The unique relationship between van Gogh and Gauguin

Here is how I would describe van Gogh and Gauguin’s relationship in one word: turbulent. Gauguin was a strong willed person with a good dose of self confidence. His paintings are strong with lots of bright colors and his execution of those paintings were just far enough ahead of his time to make him a leader among artists.

Gauguin was also self-absorbed and had little, if any, ability to feel someone’s pain or desperation. When he left for Tahiti, he left behind his wife and seven children (one with a mistress). He had child number eight with a Tahitian mistress. He provided for none of them. He did not leave his wife any money or means to support herself or their children.

As haughty and prideful as Gauguin was, van Gogh was humble, needy and subservient. Van Gogh moved to Provence in the south of France to the small town of Arles. Once there, and living in the yellow house, he came up with an idea to start an artist’s colony where he and Gauguin could paint with other artists. He was filled with ideas for this artist’s colony and, as he did so often, he became obsessed with the idea.

He wrote to Gauguin repeatedly asking him to come down and paint in the yellow house. Gauguin came up with one excuse after another why he couldn’t come right away but would one day. Their relationship was one where van Gogh greatly admired and respected Gauguin and his work, and Gauguin could care less about van Gogh or his work. But that defined Gauguin: self-centered, judgmental, adulterous, and lacking in any empathy.

Van Gogh couldn’t be more excited when Gauguin arrived. His friend was coming so they could paint together! The first few weeks were fine. Then, one day, van Gogh brought up the subject of inviting other artists to join them. It came as a shock when Gauguin told him he wasn’t interested in starting an artist’s colony. It was an even bigger shock when he told van Gogh he was leaving. He was moving to Tahiti.

Unfortunately, van Gogh’s mental health at the time was on a downward slide. He knew what was going to happen and he knew he couldn’t stop it. One night, he and Gauguin had a terrible, violent fight. By the end, Gauguin packed his things and moved out.

In van Gogh’s despair at the loss of his friend and dream, he took a knife and cut off a small portion of his earlobe. He carefully wrapped it in paper and walked down to the local brothel still bleeding from his ear. He knocked on the door and asked for a specific prostitute that he saw regularly. He handed her the little package, she opened it and began screaming. The police arrived and Van Gogh had himself recommitted to a mental institution.

While we cannot lay the blame for van Gogh’s descent into madness at Gauguin’s feet, we can try to understand just how devastating the loss of his friend was for van Gogh. By the time Gauguin arrived at the yellow house, van Gogh was already suffering from the manic-depression that ruled his life and colored his world and his work. Gauguin was his talisman, his good luck piece. Losing him was like losing a large part of himself.

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About the author: I have been a professional writer and artist for more than 20 years. I especially love to study art history. Van Gogh is my favorite artist and I have studied his life extensively. You can see my art at www.SusanLStewartArt.com