Have you ever had one of those moments where something you've never really thought about much suddenly comes up twice in a row, seemingly out of nowhere? That's what happened to me recently with Paul Gauguin.
It all started when an old friend randomly remarked that the one memory she had of me (from when we hung out in London in the early 2000s) was that Gauguin was my favourite artist. There is every chance that at the time this was true, though I may have been heavily influenced by mum’s penchant for his art, as she often recreated his ‘When will you Marry’ piece.
Coincidence or something deeper? The day after I was reminded of the post-impressionist’s art, I got onto the Yellow chapter of "The Secret Lives of Colour". In it, author St. Clair delves into the fascinating friendship between Vincent Van Gogh and yes, Paul Gauguin, including their time spent living together in a yellow house in the south of France in 1888. Van Gogh even decorated the guest room with paintings of his famed sunflowers in preparation for Gauguin's arrival.
The book continues to surprise and delight and moments like this underscores how synchronicity can shape your thought processes and enjoyment levels of art, whether it be through a painting or a book in the spoken word format.
More of this please, universe.
The Painter of Sunflowers, 1888 by Paul Gauguin