George Roddam

I rather liked the artwork in this slim book. It's a biography of Paul Gauguin ..very readable and beautifully illustrated. Though it is rather abbreviated. Right at the end there is a reference to Meyer de Haan but I don't think this friend of Gauguin's is mentioned any where in the book to this point. The book covers the main points of Gauguin's life: I didn't realise that he spent the first 7 years of his life in Peru and from the age of 17 spent 6 years as a sailor. The author has chosen show more a judicious selection of his paintings and sculpture to include in the book ..but it is fairly limited. Generally he comes across as his wife described him as he took off for Tahiti as "a selfish monster". One has to question the ethics of someone who can, at the drop of a hat, leave wife and 5 children behind and take off for the south seas...there to take a 13 year old as a mistress and later abandon her with about as much feeling as he exhibited at leaving his wife. So not really "Mr nice guy". And, I must admit, I have never really been a great fan of his paintings or his sculpture. But if you are looking for a good brief biography of an important painter then I would recommend this book. show less