Gauguin
In 19th- and 20th-century art, it is not always easy to know when the details of the artist’s life should be treated as part of the meaning of the work, and when they should be disentangled. Does van Gogh express anything beyond his own neurotic personality? Do we read back Rothko’s suicide into this colour-field painting?
Nigel Halliday
Colourful prophet
GAUGUIN Tate Modern Until 16 January 2011
Gauguin is a major figure in the development of modern art — a pioneer in the move away from naturalism; a brilliant colourist; and a prominent example of the driven, self-absorbed avant-gardist, who sacrificed himself and others in pursuit of his self-appointed role as a prophet.
