Question 1

True or false: Gauguin never painted in Tahiti; he only lived there as a tourist.

Accepted Answer

False. Gauguin spent years in Tahiti and the Marquesas, producing many of his most famous works there, like 'Where Do We Come From?'

Question 2

True or false: Gauguin briefly lived with Vincent van Gogh in Arles, France.

Accepted Answer

True. They shared a house in Arles for nine weeks in 1888, but their volatile friendship ended after van Gogh cut off his ear during a fight.

Question 3

True or false: Gauguin was a close friend of Claude Monet and painted with him daily.

Accepted Answer

False. Gauguin knew Monet but they were not close friends. Gauguin's style was more symbolic and primitive, differing from Monet's Impressionism.

Question 4

True or false: Gauguin died penniless and alone on a remote island.

Accepted Answer

True. He died in 1903 on Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands, impoverished and largely unrecognized, though his art later became hugely influential.

Question 5

True or false: Gauguin was a successful stockbroker before he became a full-time painter.

Accepted Answer

True. He worked as a stockbroker in Paris, earning a good living, and painted in his spare time before abandoning finance for art in 1883.

Question 6

True or false: Gauguin invented the color purple in painting.

Accepted Answer

False. Purple pigments existed long before Gauguin. He did, however, use bold, non-naturalistic colors that inspired Fauvism and modern art.

Question 7

True or false: Gauguin was a trained surgeon before turning to art.

Accepted Answer

False. He had no medical training; his early career was in the navy and then as a stockbroker. This myth likely stems from his adventurous image.

Question 8

True or false: Gauguin's grandmother was a famous socialist activist and writer.

Accepted Answer

True. Flora Tristan, his grandmother, was a pioneering French feminist and socialist writer, which may have influenced Gauguin's rebellious spirit.

Paul Gauguin Trivia Questions