Gauguin was not the only artist who was struck by the beauty, complexity and fierceness of the Le Pouldu coast. He was often visited by other artists while he stayed at Le Pouldu, including Emile Bernard, Meyer de Haan, Charles Filiger and Paul Seurisier. These painters had an incredibly strong and meaningful influence on each other, and the setting of the Le Pouldu coast sets the scene for these interactions.
< Emile Bernard Cliffs at Le Pouldu
The artistic lives of Bernard and Gauguin Crossed paths in the years of 1888, in Pont-Aven, and 1889, at Le Pouldu. Bernard’s most noteworthy innovation at the time was his development of the style of Cloissionism - painting with thick black contours filled in with bright, solid colour(Thompson). Gauguin and Bernard painted together, often focusing on similar themes, and together they developed the style known as symbolism, one of the big stepping stones towards modern art. In this painting of the coast a strong influence from Gauguin can be seen in the contours and brushstrokes used to paint the cliff, but the colours used lean towards a much wilder bright green rather than Gauguin’s trend towards the warmer vermilion.
Meyer de Haan, Dunes at Le Pouldu
Although Meyer de Haan’s art did not make a large impact on the art world, he did have a strong influence on the life of Gauguin. He grew up in Amsterdam to a well to do family, and always had an income from his family, as well as a factory that he owned in Amsterdam. He met Gauguin at Pont Aven, they became close friends, and De Haan became a devout follower and pupil of Gauguin. Without de Haan Gauguin would probably not have been able to afford the cost of life at Le Pouldu (Burnett, 87). Gauguin valued de Haan’s company, and even commemorated their friendship with several portraits of the man (Jansen).
< Charles Filiger, Landscape at Le Pouldu
Filiger was another regular visiter to Gauguin at Le Pouldu. Filiger shared Bernard’s interest for Cloisonnism and Synthesism (Greenspan). This painting shows how wildly different the Pouldu coast can be interpreted. The patch of sea on the left contrasts incredibly with the rest of the painting, also reflecting the wild and savage nature of the coast.
Paul Serusier, Seaweed Gatherer >
Paul Serusier was also an artist whose direction was drastically changed by Gauguin, and who further influenced many other painters. Before meeting Gauguin, Serusier had a perfect and traditional artistic upbringing. He was the star pupil at all the schools he attended, and was well favoured by the salon, with a dark, naturalist style. Gauguin taught him an entirely different view on painting, with the use of brighter, more primary colours, and a much more subjective view of nature. Serusier took this new style up eagerly, and his paintings were even more abstract and free than Gauguins (Thompson). It seems appropriate that this had occurred while they were staying together on the coast of Le Pouldu. After parting with Gauguin, Serusier was considered the “head” of the Pont-Aven group of painters, and later was the leader of the Nabis, a group of artists for whom he had strong philosophical and ideological visions (Thompson).
Works Cited:
Belinda Thompson: “Bernard, Emile” Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press, 1/16/06, http://www.groveart.com
G. Jansen: “Meyer de Haan, Jacob” Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press, 1/16/06, http://www.groveart.com/
Taube G. Greenspan: “Filiger, Charles” Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press, 1/16/06, http://www.groveart.com/
Belinda Thompson: “Serusier, Paul” Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press, 1/16/06, http://www.groveart.com/
Burnett, Robert, “The Life of Paul Gauguin”. London, Cobden-Sanderston, 1936
Welsh-Ovcharov. Gauguin’s Nirvana: Painter’s at Le Pouldu 1889-90 Wadsworth Athanaeum Museum of Art, Hartford: Yale University Press, 2001