Madame Alexandre Kohler

1870s–1891 · Workplace

Paris

1884 – April 1885 · Residence

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 · Residence

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.

October – December 1888

Nine Weeks with Van Gogh in Arles

In 1888, at Theo's insistence, Gauguin worked for nine weeks with Vincent van Gogh in his Yellow House in Arles. Their relationship deteriorated: on the evening of 23 December 1888, according to Gauguin's later account, Vincent came at him with a razor and then cut off his own ear; Gauguin left Arles, and they never saw each other again.