Paul Gauguin

“Criticism is our censorship . . .” So begins one of the greatest invectives against criticism ever written by an artist. Paul Gauguin wrote “Racontars de rapin” only months before he died in 1903, but the essay remained unpublished until 1951. Through discussions of numerous artists, both his contemporaries and predecessors, Gauguin unpacks what he viewed as the mistakes and misjudgments behind much of art criticism, revealing not only how wrong critics’ interpretations have been, but also what it would mean to approach art properly—to really look. Long out of print, this new translation by Donatien Grau includes an introduction that situates the essay within Gauguin’s written oeuvre, as well as explanatory notes. This text sheds light on Gauguin’s conception of art—widely considered a predecessor to Duchamp—and engages with many issues still relevant today: history, novelty, criticism, and the market. His voice feels as fresh, lively, sharp in English now as it did in French over one hundred years ago. Through Gauguin’s final piece of writing, we see the artist in the full throes of passion—for his work, for his art, for the art of others, and against anyone who would stand in his way. As the inaugural publication in David Zwirner Books’s new ekphrasis reader series, Ramblings of a Wannabe Painter sets a perfect tone for the books to come. Poised between writing, art, and criticism, Gauguin brings together many different worlds, all of which should have a seat at the table during any meaningful discussion of art. With the express hope of encouraging open exchange between the world of writing and that of the visual arts, David Zwirner Books is proud to present this new edition of a lost masterpiece.

Ramblings of a Wannabe Painter

"In 1894, Paul Gauguin came to the conclusion that European culture in general, and French culture in particular, was spiritually and morally bankrupt. So he left. On the eighth of June that same year, he arrived in Tahiti, an island of tropical warmth, impenetrable jungles, and - most importantly for Gauguin - unspoiled, undecadent, un-European, and extremely beautiful people." "He luxuriated in this paradise for two years, producing some of his most skillful and best-known paintings, as well as a more personal masterpiece: his journal and the woodblocks he made to accompany it. In his Tahiti diary, Gauguin wrote affectionately about the majestic and earthy people he met." "In 1896, he abruptly returned to France, where his journal was declared too racy for publication. Ultimately, he published it himself but was unable to include his powerful woodblock illustrations. In Noa Noa they appear together for the first time, accompanied by the whimsical, brightly colored sketches that Gauguin included in the margins of his journal. This collection of sensuous and intriguing illustrations is a testament to Gauguin's reverence for nature and his respect for the nobility of Tahitian society."--BOOK JACKET.

The Tahiti Journal of Paul Gauguin

Noa Noa

نوا نوا يوميات هايتي

Aníbal Fernandes

Ruá (Grande é a sua origem) dormia com a mulher, a terra tenebrosa, que deu à luz o seu rei, o solo, e depois o crepúsculo, e depois as trevas. Ruá repudiou então essa mulher. Ruá (grande é a sua origem) dormia com a mulher chamada Grande Reunião, e esta deu à luz as rainhas dos céus, as estrelas, e depois Faiti, estrela da tarde. O Rei dos céus dourados, rei único, dormia com a sua mulher Fanuí, e nasceu dela o astro Fouruá - Vénus (estrela da manhã) - o rei Fouruá que dá leis à noite e ao dia, às estrelas, à lua, ao sol, e serve de guia aos marinheiros. Fez-se à vela para a esquerda, Fouruá, e para o norte, e dormiu aí com sua mulher, guia dos marinheiros, que deu à luz a estrela vermelha, estrela vermelha que brilha à tarde com duas faces. Estrela vermelha, o deus que voa para oeste, prepara a piroga, a piroga do dia alto que singra em direcção aos céus. Faz-se à vela ao nascer do sol. Ruá caminha nos espaços. E dormia com sua mulher Urá-Tanaipá, nascendo dela os reis, os gémeos que estão à frente das Plêiades. Eram de Bora-Bora e ao ouvirem os pais dizer que iam separá-los, abandonaram a casa paterna e foram juntos para Raiatea, e depois para Uhamê, Eimeo e Otaiti. Mal partiram, a mãe inquieta começou a procurá-los mas chegava sempre tarde a todas as ilhas. Soube no entanto em Otaiti que eles ainda lá estavam e se escondiam nas montanhas. Acabou por descobri-los, mas fugiram à sua frente, até ao cume mais alto. Aí, lavada em lágrimas, no instante em que se julgava prestes a apanhá-los eles levantaram voo para os céus e ainda lá se encontram, no meio das constelações.

Noa Noa: viagem de Tahiti

John Miller

In 1894, Paul Gauguin left Europe to spend two years in Tahiti, where he produced some of his most beautiful and best-known paintings. But he also created another masterpiece that has languished in obscurity for nearly 100 years: a detailed, entertaining journal and the sensuous wood-block prints and sketches he made to accompany it. In this exquisitely designed edition, the evocative text and richly coloured illustrations are published together for the first time. Including Tahitian myths and legends, tales of Gauguin's encounters with the native people, and fascinating glimpses of the inspiration behind his most famous paintings, Noa Noa now assumes its rightful place among the masterworks of an extraordinary artist.

Si hay un personaje legendario entre los artistas modernos, ése es Paul Gauguin. La leyenda, el mito, el personaje novelesco que él mismo tanto contribuyó a crear, nos ha hecho, en muchos casos, muy difícil distinguir lo que de verdad y mentira, de hechos y de literatura, existe tanto en su biografía como en su figura artística. Su alejamiento de Europa, que oscurecía convenientemente su perfil tras una cortina de aventura, locura o valentía, o simplemente inadaptación, contribuyó en gran medida a la creación de un mito que tanto él como sus amigos se ocuparon de preservar cuidadosamente desde la lejanía. A través de los textos que se recogen en el presente volumen, en su mayoría escritos durante su estancia en los Mares del Sur, el lector profundizar en el pensamiento de Gauguin, así como en su relación con otros protagonistas de su época como Van Gogh.

Escritos de un salvaje

Ingo F. Walther

Age of Impressionism - Suggestion and expression - Tahiti - A chronology from 1848-1903.

The Primitive Sophisticate

Paul Gauguin, 1848-1903

"These journals are an illuminating self-portrait of a unique personality....They bring sharply into focus for me his goodness, his humor, his insurgent spirit, his clarity of vision, his inordinate hatred of hypocrisy and sham."--Emil Gauguin, the artist's son, in the Preface. One of the great innovative figures in modern art, Gauguin was a complex, driven individual who, in 1883, gave up his job as a stockbroker in order to be free to paint every day. As time passed, he determined to sacrifice everything for his artistic vocation. Finally, in pursuit of a place to paint "natural men and women living lives unstained by the sham and hypocrisy of civilization, he took up residence in the South Seas, first in Tahiti and, later, in the Marquesas Islands. Completed during the artist's final sojourn in the Marquesas, these revealing journals -- reprinted from rare limited edition -- throw much light on the painter's inner life and his thoughts about a great many topics. We learn of Gauguin's first stay in Paris in 1876, and his initial encounter with Impressionism, his tumultuous relationship with van Gogh when they lived and painted together in Arles, his pithy evaluations of Degas, Cezanne, Manet, and other artists; his opinion of art dealers and critics (poor), and much more. Also here are illuminating glimpses of Gauguin's life in the islands: his delight in the simple, carefree lives of the natives and the physical charms of Polynesian women, counterbalanced by his struggles with poverty, hatred of the missionaries, and despair over the failures of French colonial justice. Witty, wide-ranging, and aphoristic, these writings are not only entertaining in themselves, they are crucial for anyone seeking to understand Gauguin and his work. The text is enhanced with 27 full-page illustrations by Gauguin. Dover (1997) unabridged republication of "Paul Gauguin's Intimate Journals, " Boni and Liveright, New York, 1921.

Gauguin's Intimate Journals

This is a reproduction of the original artefact. Generally these books are created from careful scans of the original. This allows us to preserve the book accurately and present it in the way the author intended. Since the original versions are generally quite old, there may occasionally be certain imperfections within these reproductions. We're happy to make these classics available again for future generations to enjoy!

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Noa Noa. Translated From the French by O.F. Theis

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Noa Noa. Translated from the French by O. F. Theis

Marc Le Bot

An early explorer of modern art, Paul Gauguin left France for Tahiti, where he immersed himself in Maori mythology. Noa Noa, his intimate journal of writings, watercolors, and woodcuts, was discovered years after he left the island. For the 100-year anniversary of Gauguin's death, Marc Le Bot revisits the most beautiful pages of this under-appreciated masterpiece. 'Farewell, hospitable land, delicious land, home of freedom and beauty! I leave after two years, twenty years younger, more uncouth therefore than on arrival and yet more educated. Yes, the savages have taught many things to the old civilized man many things, those illiterates, about the science of living and the art of being happy.' Paul Gauguin - A writer and critic, Marc le Bot was a professor of art history at the University of Paris. He is the author of a number of publications on 20th century art. 60 illustrations

Gauguin's Noa Noa

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Gauguin's Tahiti

Voyage to Tahiti. [Translated from the Original MS. by Jonathan Griffin. Postscript by Jean Lize].

Julie Merberg

Suzanne Bober

Set against the backdrop of well-known works by the artist Paul Gauguin, rhyming text reveals the way of life in a South Seas island village.

On an Island with Gauguin

Paul Gauguin : 1848-1903

Shows a variety of Gauguin's paintings, drawings, and prints, discusses his life and career, and includes selections from his own writings

A Retrospective

Gauguin

GAUGUIN BY HIMSELF is the first publication to give equal weight to the full range of Gauguin's activities both as an artist and a writer. His letters, including many to fellow painters such as Pissarro and Van Gogh, comment freely on contemporaries such as Cezanne, Monet and Degas, and meet head-on the changing aesthetic concerns of avant-garde Paris in the last two decades of the nineteenth century. They also chart his increasingly hazardous travels around the globe in pursuit of his elusive idea of the 'primitive' from Paris and Copenhagen to Brittany, Provence, Panama, the West Indies and finally the South Pacific. Illustrated with over 200 of his most powerful and decorative works of art, GAUGUIN BY HIMSELF offers a fresh look at the diverse faces and talents of a man who chose to live outside the boundaries of society in order to fulfil his vocation as a 'great artist'.

Gauguin by Himself

John Rewald

In this volume, John Rewald displays an unusual sensitivity and insight into the artist and his creative expression. There is no other publication (written 1958) devoted to Paul Gauguin's draftsmanship, yet as Mr Rewald points out, Gauguin's drawings were his most intimate works. As the artist wrote shortly before his death: "A critic comes to see my paintings, and somewhat hesitantly, asks for my drawings. My drawings! Oh, no! They are my private letters, my secrets."

Paul Gauguin

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