Gauguin and Buddhism

Canvases as ascetic practices

Translated Abstract

At the further bottom of Christian “original sin” and Tahitian “wildness,” what is the “Buddhism” that kept moving Gogan's life? It is generally believed that the painter Paul Gauguin went to Tahiti to recover the wildness that had been lost in modern societies, but is this true? He once lived a luxurious life as a stockbroker. However, in 1882, he lost a lot of money when the Paris stock market crashed, and in the midst of the depression, he had no choice but to live a humble life as an unknown painter. As he struggled to survive, he began to have doubts about Christian dogmatism and awakened from the illusions of capitalism along with the truth of Buddhism, which he encountered at the 1878 World's Fair in Paris. “In the eyes of the Tathagata, (...) the pursuit of the Buddha's path is like a flower.” These are “fragrant” words written in Noanoa, but they are actually a quote from the early Buddhist scripture: 42 Chapters of the Sutra. He also had Dhammapada. To fight against the “evil” of civilization, he believed that the best way to follow the Buddha’s teachings. Therefore, he went to Tahiti “to retrain himself,” and painted while recalling the Buddha's teachings. Thus, he conceived “Where do we come from, What are we, Where are we going.” What was Gauguin trying to convey through this final work? In order to generate new discussion, I would like to present an image of Gauguin who regarded painting as a path to a Buddha.

Notes

（1）　Noa Noa, pp. 41-42.

Notes

（2）　Oviri, p. 196.

Notes

（3）　Lettres, pp. 193-194.

Notes

（4）　Ibid.

Notes

（5）　Ibid., pp. 195-196.

Notes

（6）　Ibid., p. 210.

Notes

（7）　ファン・ゴッホ書簡六八六

Notes

（8） 真理、五三頁。

Notes

（9）　ファン・ゴッホ書簡六九五

Notes

（10）　CPG, op. cit., p. 249.

Notes

（11）　Lettres, p. 226.

Notes

（12）　Oviri, p. 101.

Notes

（13）　Lettres, p. 258.

Notes

（14）　Noa Noa, pp. 41-42.

Notes

（15）　Ibid., p. 67.

Notes

（16）　Ibid., pp. 92-93.

Notes

（17）　Ibid., pp. 147-150.

Notes

（18）　Ibid., pp. 151-152.

Notes

（19）　真理、四一頁。

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（20）　Noa Noa, p. 152.

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（21）　真理、一七―一八頁。

Notes

（22）　Lettres, pp. 317-318.

Notes

（23）　Verdier, p. 273.　

Notes

（24）　Aline, (non paginé).

Notes

（25）　Printz, pp. 36-37.

Notes

（26）　Ibid., pp. 84-87.

Notes

（27）　Massey, p. 89.

Notes

（28）　Printz, pp. 86-87.

Notes

（29）　Ibid., pp. 72-73.

Notes

（30）　Ibid.

Notes

（31）　Ibid., pp. 38-39.

Notes

（32）　Ibid.

Notes

（33）　Ibid.

Notes

（34）　Verdier, p. 300.

References

• Le Dhammapada, avec introduction et notes par Fernand Hû, Ernest Leroux, Éditeur (Paris), 1878. [Dhamma]
• Paul Gauguin, Noa Noa (Ed.déf.) ; bois dessinés et gravés, d’après P.Gauguin, par D.de Monfreid, les éditions G.Crès et Cie (Paris), 1924.[Noa Noa]
• Lettres à sa femme et à ses amis, recueillies, annotées et préfacées par M.Malingue, Ed.B.Grasset (Paris), 1946 (rééd., 1992). [Lettres]
• Correspondance de P. Gauguin : docs. témoignages (vol.1), établie par Victor Merlhès, Fondation Singer-Polignac (Paris), 1984. [CPG]
• Paul Gauguin, L’esprit moderne et le Catholicisme [transcription by Philippe Verdier], in Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch [published by Freunde des Wallraf-Richartz-Museum und des Museum Ludwig e.V.],Vols.46/47 (1985/86). [Verdier]
• Paul Gauguin, Oviri, Ecrits d’un Sauvage, choisis et présentés par Daniel Guérin, Gallimard (Paris), 1989.[Oviri]
• Paul Gauguin, réunis par Victor Merlhès, préface de Denise Gazier, “A ma fille Aline, ce cahier est dédié”, William Blake and Co.(Bordeaux), 1989 (non paginé). [Aline]
• L’Eglise catholique et les temps modernes : Une étude théologique de Paul Gauguin, Document extrait du manuscrit de « Diverses Choses », Tahiti 1896-1897, Texte présenté par Othon Printz, Jérôme do Bentzinger éditeur [Colmar], 2016. [Printz]
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• ファン・ゴッホ書簡（全書簡がオランダ国立ファン・ゴッホ美術館によりウェブサイトを通じて公開されている。）［ファン・ゴッホ書簡］
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