Paul Gauguin was born in Paris as the son of a journalist and a Peruvian mother. When the family had to leave France for political reasons, Paul's father died during the sea voyage to Peru. And Paul Gauguin was nineteen years old, when he lost his mother.



In 1871 Paul Gauguin started to paint as a hobby. He had seen an exhibition of Impressionist paintings and was deeply impressed. By day, he had a solid job as a banker and by night he dabbled in his hobby of painting. In 1873 Paul Gauguin married Mette Gad and he had five children with her.