| Early Life & Career |
Successful Parisian stockbroker; married with five children; painted gradually |
Middle-aged London stockbroker; abruptly abandons family |
To dramatize the shocking break from society and emphasize the cost of artistic obsession |
| Personality |
Difficult, egocentric, sometimes charming; maintained some social/artistic relationships |
Cold, detached, socially isolated; indifferent to others’ feelings |
To create a symbolic “inhuman genius,” highlighting art’s demands over human connection |
| Motivation / Artistic Philosophy |
Sought spiritual and aesthetic purity; theorized and defended his art; influenced by symbolism & primitivism |
Obsessed with pure, instinctive creation; rarely explains himself |
To depict the archetype of pure, irrational genius, where creation transcends logic or explanation |
| Tahiti & the “Primitive” Ideal |
Moved to Tahiti in 1891; painted Polynesian women and landscapes; involved in colonial exploitation |
Moves to Tahiti, marries local woman, paints obsessively; art described as elemental, mystical |
To mythologize the artist’s retreat from society, avoiding moral or colonial complications; focuses on the exotic as a canvas for genius |
| Death |
Died in Marquesas Islands, poor and ill; legacy historically complex |
Dies of leprosy; art survives in memory of narrator |
To heighten the mythic, tragic aspect of the artist’s life, emphasizing immortality through art rather than social reality |
| Legacy / Reputation |
Revolutionized modern art; legacy is double-edged (genius + moral flaws) |
Art is described as transcendent; represents archetype of obsessive genius |
To illustrate the idea of art as ultimate, almost sacred achievement, abstracting from human flaws |
