Recently the Day of Biographers was celebrated. The history of this holiday dates back to 1763, when Samuel Johnson first met his biographer James Boswell. The result of the meeting and the relationship established between them was the two-volume Life of Samuel Johnson published in 1791.
Learning about the life of a strong, positive, dynamic person is always more pleasant than reading a crime chronicle or yellow gossip. This puts you in a good mood and even gives an impetus to change own life. We begin to analyze our past and make plans for the future. Hope and faith in the best appears. And when we ourselves become more positive, the world around us changes. Especially for you, we have prepared reviews of the most famous biographical novels famous people.
1. Henry Ford: “My Life, My Achievements”
Henry Ford in simple words teaches people everyday life. Using many elementary examples, he explains the most complex relations of production. These examples are invaluable experience of models that have been invented, implemented and work.
The simplicity of the analysis of industrial, social, economic and financial relations clearly demonstrates the vital importance of Ford's basic ideas.
2. “Madonna.” The True Biography of the Queen of Pop, Lucy O'Brien
An impartial study of the British music journalist Lucy O'Brien is the most full biography queens of the pop scene. Excerpt from the book: “I became a Madonna fan in 1985. I remember one evening I went into my friend's bedroom, where she was watching TV. Plopping down next to me, I asked: “What are they showing?” She replied:
Madonna show.
Oh no! “I immediately wanted to get up and leave, which I almost did.” Madonna was for me a sugary pop beauty in lycra, making faces in the middle of a Venetian scenery in the “Like A Virgin” video.
Wait a minute,” the friend said. - Actually, she's really okay. Quite funny. There's something about her that is terribly attractive.
I stayed to watch and soon realized what they were talking about. The woman I thought was a hopeless Top of the Pops starlet turned out to be something else entirely. As a matter of fact, people first started talking about her special attractiveness precisely after the release of the “Like A Virgin” video clip. She was seething with energy. She spoke directly to a female audience. She was not at all ashamed of her far from ideal physique. She smiled a lot, winked at the audience, and tried to infect them with fun. And her music - a combination of catchy dance rhythms and melodic audacity - was exciting and attractive.” Lucy O'Brien
3. Arnold Schwarzenegger: “Total Recall.” my incredibly true story"
His life story is unique. He was born during the famine years in a small Austrian town, into the family of a policeman, without much prospects for the future. In five years he learned English language and won the status of the greatest bodybuilder in the world. Within ten years he received a university education and became a millionaire as a businessman and athlete. Within twenty years, he became one of the top movie stars and became related to the Kennedy family. And thirty-six years after coming to America, he took the post of governor of California.
And in this book, the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger will really remember everything...
4. “Coco Chanel”, Henri Guidel
Coco Chanel is one of brightest stars on the horizon of high fashion that shone in the twentieth century. Her vibrant personal life, friendship with brilliant people - Winston Churchill, Sergei Diaghilev, Cocteau, Jean Marais, Igor Stravinsky, passionate dedication to her profession - made the biographical narrative of Henri Guidel a fascinating “high reading”.
5. “The Diary of a Genius”, Salvador Dali
A real diary is a monument erected to itself, to perpetuate its own glory. The text is distinguished by extreme sincerity and a kind of surreal logic.
This is a document of utmost importance outstanding artist modernity, written by the pen of a talented writer.
6. Nick Vujicic: “Life without boundaries. The path to an amazingly happy life”
Nick Vujicic was born without arms and legs, but he is completely independent and lives a full and eventful life: he received two higher education, surfs, enjoys fishing, swims and even dives from a springboard into the water.
His book is an inspiring, emotional story about how to overcome difficulties, despair, believe in yourself and become happy. Nick openly talks about his physical problems and experiences, about how it was not easy for him to come to terms with his condition. Once he even wanted to commit suicide! It took him many years to learn to see his problems not as an obstacle, but as an opportunity for growth, to set big goals for himself and always achieve what he wanted.
Without arms or legs, he learned to rise in every sense of the word. In his book, Nick formulated rules of life that helped him, and now he shares them with readers.
7. “Steve Jobs”, Walter Isaacson
This biography is based on conversations with Steve Jobs himself, as well as with his relatives, friends, enemies, rivals and colleagues. Jobs had no control over the author. He answered all questions frankly and expected the same honesty from others.
This is a story about a life full of ups and downs, about a strong man and a talented businessman who was one of the first to understand: to succeed in the 21st century, you need to combine creativity and technology.
8. Jonathan Cott: “Next to John and Yoko”
Cott's book is a very personal, almost intimate story about a long-term friendship with one of the main musicians of the second half of the twentieth century. Cott publishes recordings of his conversations with John, including last interview Lennon, which he gave to the author three days before his tragic death, – this interview used to be in in full not published.
9. Luca Caioli: “Messi. An exceptional biography”
Sports journalist Luca Caioli wrote frank biography Argentine football player Lionel Messi. Trying to understand how an ordinary boy, also burdened with a physical disability, becomes a world legend.
The author collected information wherever possible. He listens to confidential stories from Messi's family and friends, his coaches, doctor, former players, sports journalists and television commentators. And he learns many interesting details from the life of a boy who stopped at nothing to achieve his dream and, ultimately, became one of the greatest football players in the world.
10. Faina Ranevskaya: “Old age is the ignorance of God”
In her memoirs, the legendary actress talks about how everyone who really loved her did not like her, and those whom she managed to love did not love her at all. Faina Ranevskaya talks about the unbearable loneliness that fate presented her with as a great test.
Plus, she blames her talent for her fate, which, as she says, made her unhappy. She also speaks indignantly about her appearance, which seems to have ruined her personal life. This book shows how a person who lived to be 80 years old simply became unnecessary to anyone, and memories, along with loneliness, do not leave the consciousness of a great woman.
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Incredible facts
You can find many unusual things in the world.
Below we will talk about the most unusual people which can cause a smile, surprise or even shock.
These people were included in the Guinness Book of Records or became famous with the assistance of the media.
Rubber boy
Jaspreet Singh Kalra
At the age of fifteen, this guy became known as "Rubber Boy" He can turn his head 180°.
Inseparable friends
Sambat and Chomran
Under the bed of a boy named Sambat, his mother discovered a very small snake. Then Sambat was only 3 months old. Since then, the boy and the snake Khomran - inseparable friends: they eat, sleep and play together.
The biggest mouth
Francisco Domingo Joaquim
This resident of Angola is the holder of the title "The world's largest mouth."The size of his mouth is 17 cm,which allows him to do 14 times in 1 minute place and remove a 0.33 liter can.
Woman with horn
Zhang Ruifang
This 102-year-old woman from China, Henan Province, is famous for her real horn, who grew up with her on the forehead. The anomaly surprises scientists, especially since the horn has been constantly growing for several years (it has already reached a mark exceeding 7 cm).
Anvil Man
Gino Martino
The American artist and wrestler can shock you with his ability rack your brains objects such as concrete blocks, iron rods baseball bats. Doctors say that Gino has super strong skull.
The man who doesn't sleep
Yakov Tsiperovich
About 70 different films were made about this man from Belarus (Minsk), because Yakov Tsiperovich after clinical death not only did he not die, but also I stopped even sleeping. After numerous examinations, scientists and doctors confirmed this fact, but could not explain it.
Longest hair
Tran Van Hay
A resident of Vietnam had the most long hair in the world (6.8 m). He's been wearing his hair in thick braids since he was 25 because it's convenient for him. Chiang Van Hei died when he was 79 years old.
Man with raised hand
Sadhu Amar Bharati
Hindu Sadhu Amar Bharati in 1973 raised his right hand above your head, bowing to God Shiva. Since then he hasn't put it down.
Airport like home
Mehran Karimi Nasseri
This Iranian refugee lived from 1988 to 2006 in the terminal of Charles de Gaulle airport (France). It was Mehran Karimi Nasseri who came up with the idea to create famous film"Terminal".
Longest nose
Mehmet Ozyurek
The owner of the longest nose, as recorded in the Guinness Book of Records, is Mehmet Ozyurek, a resident of Turkey born in 1949. In 2010, it was determined that his nose was as long as 8.8 cm.
Best karateka
Masutatsu Oyama
About the owner of the 10th dan of karate, outstanding master, the creator of the Kyokushinkai style and karate teacher Masutatsu Oyama created legends. This is the man who smashed with the edge of his palm 4 bricks or 17 layers of tiles.
Behind the back of the great karateka there are about 50 fights with bulls, of which he killed three without any weapons, and Broke the horns of 49 bulls.
The fattest man
Carol Ann Yager
This woman is the undisputed record holder for the most weight in history. Carol Yeager's weight at age 20 was 727 kg. With such weight, she could not even move, so several special devices were created for Carol.
The man who remembers everything
Jill Price
A woman who remembers literally everything in her life to the smallest detail, starting from adolescence. Jill Price remembers when she woke up, what she ate, any songs, smells or places she was. If you think it's "cool", then Jill perceives her gift as curse.
Using self-hypnosis
Alex Lenkei
He decided to use his mind rather than anesthesia. Using self-hypnosis, Alex Lenkay can block all pain after and before the operation, being fully conscious.
The most alive of the dead
Lal Bihari
We are talking about a farmer born in 1961 who lives in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Lal was mistakenly officially dead from 1976 to 1994. With his own death certificate in hand, he fought the Indian government bureaucracy for 18 years to prove that he was the living one.
Lal Bihari even founded Association of the Dead for the victims of such terrible mistakes by Indian officials.
Embryo in embryo
Sanju Bhagat
He suffered from a strange condition known as fetus in fetu(embryo in embryo). Sanju Bhagat had a twin brother in his belly for many years. At first, doctors assumed that it was a tumor, but after operating on the unfortunate man, they removed parts of the dead baby.
Japanese inventor
Yoshiro Nakamatsu
A famous Japanese inventor claims to be the world leader in the number of inventions. (more than 3,000). Perhaps Yoshiro Nakamatsu's most famous invention is the computer floppy disk. And the main goal of a scientist is to live more than 140 years.
The man who eats metal
Michael Lotito
For the first time, a 9-year-old French boy ate TV. Then Michael Lotito learned to swallow rubber, metal and even glass.
He surpassed himself and got into the Guinness Book of Records when he ate a whole airplane, however, it took him two years. Doctors note the fact that Michael is still alive only because the walls of his stomach are twice as thick as those of an ordinary person.
Tooth King
Radhakrishnan Velu
A Malaysian man is famous for being able to move various vehicles himself and only teeth. The biggest load that Radhakrishnan Velu pulled was a whole train, consisting of six cars and having a mass 297 t!
Many people worry that there are no unique features in their appearance. However, there are individuals whose sense of their own “mediocrity” has forced them to look for extremely extravagant ways to attract the attention of others. And there are those who would be happy not to stand out from the crowd, but Mother Nature made arrangements for them. Here is a list of the most unusual people in the world, whose photos prove that they are not the figment of some wild imagination.
30. Chinese Rapunzel
Of the residents different countries, who claim to have the longest hair in the world, the Chinese are one of the last to come to mind. However, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Xie Quipingt from China has the longest hair in the world. Their length at the time of measurement in 2004 reached 5.627 meters. She said she started growing her hair in 1973, meaning she hadn't cut her hair in 31 years when the record was set.
29. The Man with Giant Nails
Even if your nails are more like claws in size, they are far from the nails of Indian Sridhar Chillal.
He started growing his nails back in the early 1950s because he saw a teacher scold a student who broke a nail. Over the course of 62 years, the nails on his left hand grew to an impressive length of 910 centimeters.
Because of such an impressive size of his nails, the man was unable to get a job, and life is difficult for him. But the Guinness Book of Records requires sacrifice.
28. A woman with eyes popping out of her sockets
There is an expression “his (or her) eyes bulged out of their sockets.” You can see what it really looks like by looking at the photo of Jalisa Thompson. She can do without special effort squeeze the eyeballs out of their sockets, and then return them to the place intended by nature.
27. Elastic man
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome causes a defect in the synthesis of type III collagen in the body, and there is no cure for the disease. Englishman Harry Turner, who holds the title of “the man with the most elastic skin,” has this syndrome. He was able to pull the skin on his abdomen 15.8 centimeters away from the rest of his body.
However, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is no fun as it can lead to ruptured blood vessels and then death.
26. People with the widest tongue
The tongue of Byron Schlenker from New York is 8.6 cm wide. The man became a local celebrity because his tongue was wider than an iPhone 6.
Byron's daughter, Emily, also has a tongue of impressive size, its width reaches 7.3 cm. This is larger than that of any other woman in the world.
It is interesting that Mrs. Schlenker's tongue is of normal size.
25. Endless plastic
The strangest people in the world do not necessarily have any diseases or congenital anomalies. Here, 61-year-old Cindy Jackson holds the title of “record holder for the number of plastic surgeries.”
She has had more than a dozen major surgeries, including facelifts, rhinoplasty, liposuction, jaw surgery, implants, and countless smaller surgeries. There were more than 52 of them in total.
Jackson was named one of the top users of cosmetic surgery in 2000, and she doesn't stop there because...she just doesn't want to.
24. Big Nose
No one has ever received more comments about his nose than Turk Mehmet Ozyurek, and that's because he has the biggest nose in the world. At the time of measurement for entry into the Guinness Book, the length of Mehmet's nose was 8.8 cm.
23. Too many teeth
You may have looked at the photo above and thought there was nothing special about it. Now look at it again, knowing that the norm for humans is 32 teeth, not 37, like a native of India named Vijay Kumar.
22. Modified Man
Kala Kaivi, who works as a tattoo artist, has decorated (or disfigured - everyone has their own opinion) the body and eyes with tattoos, piercings and even silicone horns on the head. He also has the largest ear tunnels in the world, their diameter is 109 mm.
21. Horned woman
In the Middle Ages, the Chinese woman Liang Xiuzhen, nicknamed the “unicorn woman,” could have been burned at the stake. Fortunately, modern science knows that such a skin horn on the head is caused not by kinship with the Devil, but by a virus. Such formation is life-threatening, as it is susceptible to constant infections. Liang's growth reaches 13 cm in length and gives her unpleasant sensations. However, an elderly woman may simply not be able to endure a surgical operation to remove the “horn”.
20. Holes in the face
German-born Joel Miggler has 11 holes in his face. He made huge tunnels in the cheeks, and smaller tunnels in the upper lip, under the lower lip, in the nasal septum and in the nose.
Joel made the first changes in his body at the age of 13. It is unlikely that most teenagers will be allowed to repeat such a “feat” by their parents.
19. Wasp waist
Many women dream of thin waist. However, Michelle Kobke took this dream to the extreme. Using a special corset (almost without removing it), Kobka managed to reduce her waist to a staggering 40.6 cm.
Eventually, Michelle stopped wearing corsets because her waist had already reached the ideal and decided to return to normal life. She's gained a few centimeters, but her waist is still super-thin.
18. Hair in the ears
Few people consider the sight of hair growing in the ears to be a beautiful sight. However, Indian Radhakanta Bajpai is not like most people. He never cut the hair in his ears and they reached 13.2 cm in length.
Bajpai has no intention of removing his ear hair as he has been growing it since he was 18 and believes it symbolizes good luck and prosperity. He even uses a special shampoo to keep the ear hairs smooth and silky.
17. Silicone penis
Photo of one of the most strange people the world looks like a porn director's dream. However, in reality, Misha Stanz cannot have normal sex. Dreaming of a huge phallus, he injected himself with silicone four times into the penis and scrotum. As a result, his dignity grew to 23 cm in length and 9 cm in width. And it weighs 4.3 kg. But Misha is still far from the size of the owner.
16. Bloody tears
One day, 17-year-old Melanie Harvey bled from her eyes and ears. Melanie and her mother, Katherine, consulted several doctors, but doctors could not find the cause of this frightening phenomenon.
The bleeding became more and more severe because doctors could not give recommendations on how to stop it. And now Melanie bleeds not only from her ears and eyes, but also from her nose and nails about five times a day.
15. The man who hardly ages
Inhabitant South Korea named Hyomung Shin is one of the strangest people on Earth. He looks 12 or 13 years old, but is actually 26.
Shin has a very rare condition known as "highlander syndrome", meaning he does not age as quickly as a normal person. Shin is often not allowed into clubs because security believes he has a fake passport. Even the reporters couldn't believe that this "boy" was no longer required to go to school, but Shin was able to prove his age.
14. The man who changed his race
A change of gender in our world will no longer surprise anyone, but what about an unintentional change of race? An elderly inventor from Krasnodar, Semyon Gendler, was diagnosed with hepatitis C and cancer. In one of the American clinics, he received a liver transplant from an African American, and since then Gandler’s appearance has changed dramatically. Simply put, it darkened. But Semyon is happy and claims that he has gained a second wind. Perhaps because his transplanted liver is only 38 years old.
13. Popeye
Arm wrestler Jeff Dabe from Minnesota was born with massive forearms, which is very reminiscent of Popeye the sailor from the cartoons. He has a nickname accordingly. Dabe's forearm circumference is 49 cm.
Doctors initially assumed that Jeff had gigantism or “elephant disease,” but did not find any of these or other pathologies in him.
12. Man with the head of a parrot
Ted Richards, a 57-year-old man from England, has undergone a major body transformation that includes more than 100 tattoos and 50 piercings. He also removed the ears to allow more room on the head for something that isn't usually found on human heads.
Richards has five parrots that he loves very much, and now he strives to be as much like them as possible. Richards is pleased with the progress and believes that this is the best thing that has happened to him in his life.
11. Barbie
Ukrainian Valeria Lukyanova did everything possible to turn herself into a living Barbie doll.
Some experts believe that such a transformation became possible thanks to the achievements plastic surgery. Others believe it's down to skillful makeup, countless hours in the gym, and the use of photo editors. Experts agree on one thing: Valeria definitely resorted to mammoplasty and nose shape correction.
10. Scary Angelina Jolie
The top 10 most unusual people opens with 19-year-old Iranian Sahar Tabar. She was so fascinated by the beautiful Angelina Jolie that she underwent 50 plastic surgery to be like your idol. Moreover, she sat on strict diet, and with a height of 150 cm weighs 40 kg. Alas, the result was frightening. Some even think that Sugar resembles a character from the cartoon "Corpse Bride".
Sahar later stated that all these photographs were the result of makeup and processing in a photo editor.
9. Boy with giant hands
This child, named Kaleim, suffers from a rare condition that causes his arms to continue to grow at a rapid rate. Each of them is already larger than the boy's head.
8. Little woman
Indian woman Jyoti Amji suffers from a disease known as achondroplasia, which limits her ability to grow. When she turned 18, the girl weighed 5.2 kg, and her height did not exceed 62.8 cm. She is.
7. Huge breasts
Masseuse Christy Love earns $1,300 a day massaging clients. The massage includes “kicking” the breasts and sliding them over the client’s oiled body. Each of Christie's breasts weighs 7.17 kg, and the woman's body weight is more than 140 kg.
6. Catwoman
Socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein decided to resort to plastic surgery to achieve maximum resemblance to the proud queen of animals. Having gone through countless surgeries, Wildenstein now looks like she can meow wildly before she says "hello." Today she is among the.
5. Half Ton Man
Patrick Deuel is also a man who was able to lose more than 300 kg of weight. At some point in Patrick’s life, his weight reached 510.75 kg, and in order to deliver such a colossus to the hospital, they had to break down the wall of the house.
After gastric bypass surgery, Deuel lost weight to 170 kg, then lost weight again to 254 kg and now his weight constantly fluctuates around 200 kg.
4. The fattest woman
British Susan Eman does not suffer from excess weight at all. She longs to become the fattest woman in the history of mankind, and her lover, a chef by profession, is ready to help Susan achieve her goal. She now weighs 343 kg and will soon compete with number five in the top 10 weirdest people.
3. Jessica Rabbit Live
A resident of Sweden, Pixie Fox, removed six ribs, pumped up her lips and breasts with silicone to achieve maximum resemblance to the sexy Jessica from animated film"Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" Now she eats only liquid food and constantly wears a support corset. But she is beautiful.
2. Tallest man
The height of the Turk Sultan Kösen is 251 cm. He. Having straightened up to his full height, his head almost touches the basketball hoop. Can you imagine the size of his feet?
1. The strongest of men
The Lithuanian giant Zydrunas Savickas introduced the concept of “strength” to new level. He was able to squat 400 kilograms and lifted a weight of one thousand kilograms in powerlifting.
For obvious reasons, he is the strongest man alive in the world. Savickas can easily lift the fattest man or the fattest woman in the world.
The story of Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs, as retold by Walter Isaacson, is one of the most popular modern biographies, often mentioned in various collections. " Steve Jobs” tells the story of the life and career of one of the most influential entrepreneurs of the 21st century, his great failure and how it helped him achieve success and conquer the world.
The Microsoft co-founder talks in his autobiography about the years of the company's emergence and growth, and his complex and close relationship with Gates. In this book you will find a couple of ideas on how to start your own business, interact with partners, make money and, importantly, how to spend it.
Book by David Kirkpatrick - true story creation social network No. 1 with over half a billion users. Main character narration Mark Zuckerberg himself provided the journalist with unlimited access to information about himself and Facebook, so the facts presented in the book can be considered as reliable as possible.
Tony Hsieh is an Internet entrepreneur and CEO of the online retailer Zappos. The autobiography tells the story of the life and development of a businessman: from opening a worm farm at the age of nine to the creation of Zappos and LinkExchange, which were later purchased by Amazon and Microsoft. This cheerful story will help young entrepreneurs make their business even more useful and profitable.
Blake Mycoskie is an American entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist, best known as the founder of Toms Shoes. She is famous not only for her espadrilles, but also for the fact that when you buy a pair of shoes, the same ones are sent to poor children with foot diseases. In his book, Mycoskie talks not only about how to make a profit, but also about how to start a business that will benefit people.
“Shoe Salesman” is another success story, this time from Nike creator Phil Knight, who as a child could not afford Adidas sneakers. This book tells the story of how an entrepreneur founded a company that became a serious competitor to the company with three stripes. In addition, “The Shoe Salesman” will reveal what happened to the waitress who drew the Nike logo for $30, and how an aeronautical engineer from NASA came up with the famous Air Max.
The business autobiography of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is not an ordinary success story, but a cautionary tale that proves that a company can make high profits without abandoning its principles. Howard Schultz talks about treating employees and customers with love and respect, producing a product top quality and corresponding service are the fundamentals that cannot be sacrificed even in the most difficult periods for the company.
The autobiography of multi-billionaire Richard Branson will appeal to those who want to become an entrepreneur, build successful business or just find out how the Virgin empire was built. This book talks about the exciting path and grandiose results that can await someone who has an entrepreneurial spirit and the desire to realize it. Branson began his career by selling defective records under the Virgin brand. On at the moment Virgin Group includes more than 400 companies of various profiles, and the number of corporate employees exceeds 50 thousand people.
The book by the outstanding American industrialist is not a collection of abstract general recommendations on creating and running a business, but a reference book with applied information. Henry Ford teaches in simple words the intricacies of everyday life, and in the same way he explains the most complex relations of production, backing up what he has said with examples - models that are operational even after a hundred years.
The autobiography of former Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson will appeal not only to football fans. This book is an extraordinary story strong man, who knows very well that without severe disappointments there are no great victories.
“A Life in Cast” is a brutally honest story of a career full of ups and downs, an autobiography of a man who went through long haul to the success of a movie star. Bryan Cranston talks about his past, looking at each of his vital status like a movie role, be it a house painter or a murder suspect. The book will appeal to all fans of fascinating non-fiction literature and fans of Cranston in particular.
If biographies of successful entrepreneurs don't inspire you, you might like Stephen King's memoirs. If you have to write for work, and are already tired of textbooks on journalism and philology, then “How to Write Books” is a great way to take a useful break from boring textbooks. If you are just starting to write, then King’s biography is also suitable: the author talks to the reader without arrogance, on an equal footing, motivating him to be creative.
Biography of Christopher McCandless - an American downshifter traveler who went to an uninhabited part of Alaska with small supplies of food and equipment in the hope of living for some time in solitude. "IN wild conditions“is an example of a person’s dedication and willingness to give up the benefits of civilization in search of peace of mind. The end of this story is sad, but McCandless’s philosophy is close to many.
Autobiography of Solomon Northup - a free-born African American who, by coincidence, fell into slavery. This book teaches that even in the most seemingly hopeless situations You can't give up and lose hope. The film adaptation of this story received an Oscar in the category Best Film"in 2013.
Paul Eugene Henri Gauguin was born in Paris on June 7, 1848 in the family of journalist Clovis Gauguin, a convinced radical. After the defeat of the June uprising, Gauguin's family, for security reasons, was forced to move to relatives in Peru, where Clovis intended to publish his own magazine. But on the way to South America, the journalist died of a heart attack, leaving his wife with two small children. Gotta give it credit mental fortitude the artist’s mother, who raised her children alone without complaint.
A striking example courage in Paul’s family circle included his grandmother Flora Tristan, one of the country’s first socialist and feminist, who published the autobiographical book “The Wanderings of a Pariah” in 1838. From her, Paul Gauguin inherited not only her external resemblance, but also her character, her temperament, indifference to public opinion and love of travel.
Memories of life with relatives in Peru were so dear to Gauguin that he later called himself a “Peruvian savage.” At first, nothing foreshadowed his fate as a great artist. After 6 years of living in Peru, the family returned to France.
But Gauguin was tired of the gray provincial life in Orleans and studying in a Parisian boarding school, and at the age of 17, against his mother’s wishes, he enlisted in the French merchant fleet and visited Brazil, Chile, Peru, and then off the coast Denmark and Norway. This was the first, by generally accepted standards, shame that Paul brought to his family. The mother, who died during his voyage, did not forgive her son and, as punishment, deprived him of all inheritance.
Returning to Paris in 1871, Gauguin, with the help of his guardian Gustave Aroz, a friend of his mother, received a position as a broker in one of the most reputable stock exchange firms in the capital. Paul was 23 years old and had a brilliant career ahead of him. He started a family quite early and became an exemplary father of the family (he had 5 children).
Gauguin began painting in the 1870s. At first it was a Sunday hobby, and Paul modestly assessed his capabilities, and his family considered his passion for painting to be a cute eccentricity. Through Gustave Aroz, who loved art and collected paintings, Paul Gauguin met several impressionists, enthusiastically accepting their ideas.
After participating in 5 impressionist exhibitions, Gauguin’s name began to sound in artistic circles: the artist was already shining through the Parisian broker. And Gauguin decided to devote himself entirely to painting, and not to be, as he put it, a “Sunday artist.” The choice in favor of art was also facilitated by the stock exchange crisis of 1882, which crippled Gauguin’s financial position. But the financial crisis also affected painting: the paintings were poorly sold, and the life of the Gauguin family turned into a struggle for survival. Moving to Rouen and later to Copenhagen, where the artist sold canvas products and his wife gave French lessons, they were not saved from poverty, and Gauguin’s marriage fell apart.
Gauguin and his youngest son returned to Paris, where he did not find any peace of mind, no prosperity. To feed my son great artist I was forced to earn money by posting posters. “I learned real poverty,” Gauguin wrote in “Notebook for Alina,” his beloved daughter. It is true that, despite everything, suffering sharpens talent. However, there shouldn’t be too much of it, otherwise it will kill you.”
This was a turning point for Gauguin's painting. The artist’s school was impressionism, which reached its heyday at that time, and his teacher was Camille Pissarro, one of the founders of impressionism. The name of the patriarch of Impressionism, Camille Pissarro, allowed Gauguin to take part in five of the eight Impressionist exhibitions between 1874 and 1886.
In the mid-1880s, the crisis of impressionism began, and Paul Gauguin began to look for his path in art. A trip to picturesque Brittany, which preserved its ancient traditions, marked the beginning of changes in the artist’s work: he moved away from impressionism and worked out own style, combining elements of Breton culture with a radically simplified style of writing - synthetism. This style is characterized by a simplification of the image, conveyed in bright, unusually shining colors, and deliberately excessive decorativeness.
Gauguin's style, harmoniously combining impressionism, symbolism, Japanese graphics and children's illustration, was perfect for depicting “uncivilized” peoples. If the impressionists each in his own way, sought to analyze the colorful world, conveying reality without a special psychological and philosophical basis, then Gauguin did not just offer a virtuoso technique, he reflected in art:
“For me, a great artist is the formula of the greatest intelligence.”
His paintings are full of harmonious metaphors with complex meanings, often permeated with pagan mysticism. The figures of people that he painted from life acquired a symbolic, philosophical meaning. Using color relationships, the artist conveyed mood, state of mind, thoughts: so, pink land symbol in paintings joy and abundance.
A dreamer by nature, Paul Gauguin spent his entire life searching for heaven on earth in order to capture it in his works. I looked for it in Brittany, Martinique, Tahiti, and the Marquesas Islands. Three trips to Tahiti (in 1891, 1893 and 1895), where the artist painted a number of his famous works, brought disappointment: the primitiveness of the island was lost. Diseases introduced by Europeans reduced the population of the island from 70 to 7 thousand, and along with the islanders, their rituals, art and local crafts died out...
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In reviews of the exhibition of Gauguin’s paintings brought from Tahiti, one could read:
“To entertain your children, send them to a Gauguin exhibition. They will amuse themselves in front of painted pictures depicting four-armed female creatures stretched out on a billiard table...”
After such derogatory criticism, Paul Gauguin did not stay in his homeland and in 1895 again, and for the last time, he left for Tahiti. In 1901, the artist moved to Domenic Island (Marquesas Islands), where he died of a heart attack on May 8, 1903. Paul Gauguin was buried in the local Catholic cemetery on Domenic Island (Hiva Oa).
Even after the artist's death, the French authorities in Tahiti, who persecuted him during his lifetime, mercilessly dealt with his artistic heritage. Ignorant officials sold his paintings, sculptures, and wooden reliefs under the hammer for pennies.
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Recognition came to Gauguin 3 years after his death, when 227 of his works were exhibited in Paris. The French press, which had angrily ridiculed the artist during his lifetime regarding each of his few exhibitions, began to publish laudatory odes to his art. Articles, books and memoirs were written about him.
Once, in a letter to Paul Sérusier, Gauguin suggested with despair: “...my paintings scare me. The public will never accept them." However, the public accepts Gauguin's paintings and buys them for a lot of money. For example, in 2015, an unnamed buyer from Qatar (according to the IMF, the richest country in the world since 2010) bought Gauguin’s painting “When is the wedding?” for $300 million. Gauguin's painting received the honorary status of the most expensive painting in the world.
To be fair, it should be noted that Gauguin was not at all worried about the lack of public interest in his work. He was convinced: “Everyone should follow their passion. I know that people will understand me less and less. But can this really matter?
Paul Gauguin's whole life was a struggle against philistinism and prejudices. He always lost, but thanks to his obsession, he never gave up. The love for art that lived in his indomitable heart became guiding star for the artists who followed in his footsteps.