\b0 Born in Paris in \b \ATXul1024 \cf4 \ATXht290 1848\b0 \ATXul0 \cf0 \ATXht0 to a journalist father
and a mother of Peruvian descent, Paul Gauguin first became a sailor and then a stockbroker and amateur painter. In 1883 he decided, in spite of his family responsibilities, to devote his time solely to painting. Over the following years, he lived on Ma
rtinique, with \b \ATXul1024 \cf4 \ATXht447 Van Gogh\b0 \ATXul0 \cf0 \ATXht0 at Arles, and above all at Pont-Aven in Brittany, where he found the \i ôsomething savageö\i0 that he felt he had within him and that he wanted to get down on canvas. In searc
h of new horizons and a haven where he could paint in peace, he went to Tahiti, where he stayed from 1891-3. After a brief return to France, he left for the Pacific again and set up his studio on Hiva Oa, one of the Marquesas Islands, where he died in 19
03 at a time when even the most grudging had become convinced of his genius.\par
