Teha’amana was repulsed by Gauguin’s syphilitic sores (which covered his entire body) and declined to live with him despite generous gifts of bead necklaces and brass rings. Gauguin had no time to do this for himself as he wanted to paint, so this was a perfect arrangement for him. Tahitian families were self sufficient; they fished, hunted wild pigs and gathered breadfruit and bananas from the mountains, consequently there was no trade in foodstuffs. Teha’amana means “giver of strength” and appears in ancient prayers and folklore. Gauguin expected his muses to meet all his needs; sexual, aesthetic and domestic, while remaining pliant and undemanding of him. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. When built in 1997, this ship was likely the height of small-ship sailing elegance. He had a public affair with a teenage Malayan girl, known as ‘Annah the Javanese’, who had his baby and brought the child up on her own. He found himself inspired by Tahiti’s tropical flora and fauna, and its fast-disappearing Maori culture, ritual and myths, which he felt compelled to capture on canvas. Picasso and Matisse were certainly inspired by his bold approach to form and colour; and possibly his life style. A luxury cruise ship named the Paul Gauguin is touted for its ability to reach smaller coves than the larger vessels, while there is no shortage on the island of merchandise emblazoned with facsimiles of the artist’s paintings. In February 1891 , Gauguin’s friends arranged an exhibition to sell his paintings , which finally brought him … The life and works of Paul Gauguin in Tahiti and the Marquises. However, a huge portion of his inspiration came from his guardian, Gustave Arosa who had various art collections by some experienced artists such as Camille Corot, Jean-Francois Millet and Eugene Delacroix. I find Gauguin’s story fascinating and disturbing in equal measures but there is no doubt that his experimental, uniquely coloured, “primitive” style of painting influenced the path of Modern art. Through this artwork, Gauguin brings together all those familiar erotic situations by feeling his canvas with tropical and exotic imagery. The “naturalness” of the Polynesian women in contrast to what he took to be the falsity of women of his own class in Europe. She was pregnant by the end of the summer. Paul Gaugin was intrigued by these artists and as a result, he began painting. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. The gallery’s major new exhibition of Gauguin’s portraits rightly raises ethical questions with a now familiar ring. His father, a 34-year-old liberal journalist, came from a family of entrepreneurs residing in Orléans. He claims, for instance, to have co-owned the first draft, written in Gauguin’s hand, of “Noa Noa,” the artist’s account of his life in Tahiti. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! But Mathews … Thank you for putting such an interesting and unusual spin on the works. I have only touched the subject of Gauguin’s muses and his legacy, but there is much more in depth historical literature out there. The daughters concerned usually entered such marriages willingly, with them generally being non-binding, and the girl free to return home at any time. In his travelogue Noa Noa, he reveals that he took a wife in Tahiti: a thirteen-year-old girl named Teha’amana, called Tehura in Noa Noa. Gauguin described his muse as his ” little mistress with instinctive ways and a golden body, docile and loving”.