Paul Gauguin was a major Post-Impressionist artist whose work helped move modern painting toward bolder colors, simplified form, and symbolic expression. He began painting seriously while working as a stockbroker, later leaving that career to pursue art fully.

He was connected with the Impressionists early on, but gradually developed a more personal style through time spent in Martinique, Tahiti, and the Marquesas Islands. These places shaped the subjects, color, and atmosphere of his mature paintings, while his biography is now also viewed through the complex history of colonialism.

Gauguin’s style is marked by flat color, strong outlines, and decorative composition. His influence was important for later modern artists who wanted painting to move beyond natural observation and become a language of mood, symbolism, and imagination.