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: Paul Gauguin painted 'Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?' in Tahiti.

Accepted Answer

True. Gauguin created this monumental painting in 1897–98 while living in Tahiti. It is considered his masterpiece and explores existential themes.

Question 3

True or false: Paul Gauguin returned to France and died in Paris in 1903.

Accepted Answer

False. Gauguin never returned to Europe after 1895. He died on Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands in 1903.

Question 4

True or false: Paul Gauguin was a close friend and collaborator of Claude Monet.

Accepted Answer

False. Gauguin exhibited with the Impressionists but had little personal interaction with Monet. His style later diverged sharply from Monet's.

Question 5

True or false: Paul Gauguin was a central figure in the Impressionist movement.

Accepted Answer

False. Gauguin was a Post-Impressionist artist, known for bold colors and symbolism, distinct from the Impressionists’ focus on light and naturalism.

Question 6

True or false: Paul Gauguin died impoverished in 1903 on the remote Marquesas Islands.

Accepted Answer

True. Gauguin spent his final years in the Marquesas, ill and in poverty, and died on Hiva Oa on May 8, 1903. He was buried there, largely unrecognized at the time.

Question 7

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 8

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 9

True or false: Paul Gauguin worked as a stockbroker before becoming a full-time artist.

Accepted Answer

True. Gauguin was a successful stockbroker in Paris from 1871 to 1883 before leaving his career to paint full time.

Question 10

True or false: Paul Gauguin is best known for his sculptures and wood carvings.

Accepted Answer

False. Although Gauguin sculpted and carved wood, he is primarily renowned for his paintings, especially his Tahitian works.

Question 11

True or false: Paul Gauguin died in the Marquesas Islands in 1903.

Accepted Answer

True. After moving to Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands in 1901, Gauguin died there in 1903 and is buried locally.

Question 12

True or false: Paul Gauguin shared a house with Vincent van Gogh in Arles in 1888.

Accepted Answer

True. Gauguin lived with van Gogh in the Yellow House in Arles for nine weeks. The tense collaboration ended with van Gogh's ear-cutting incident.

Question 13

True or false: Paul Gauguin was born on the island of Tahiti in the South Pacific.

Accepted Answer

False. Gauguin was born in Paris, France, in 1848. He only moved to Tahiti in 1891, well into his artistic career.

Question 14

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.

Question 15

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 16

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.

Paul Gauguin Trivia Questions