Père Jean's Path

1870s–1891 · Wirkungsort

Paris

1883

Becomes a Professional Artist

From 1883 Gauguin was a professional artist: he gave up his work as a broker and devoted all his time to painting.

1884 – April 1885 · Wohnort

Frederiksberg

1884–1885

Break with His Family

In 1884 Gauguin moved with his family to Copenhagen, where he worked for a time as a broker; after he devoted himself entirely to painting, his wife, left without means, abandoned him, taking their five children. In 1885 he returned to Paris with his son Clovis and spent his first winter in real poverty.

April 1885 · Wohnort

Nørregade

summer 1886

First Summer in Pont-Aven, Meeting Laval

Gauguin spent the summer of 1886 in the artists' colony of Pont-Aven in Brittany, drawn there by the cheapness of life; he enjoyed unexpected success among the young artists and met Charles Laval, his future companion on the journey to Panama and Martinique.