Paul Gaugin (1848-1903) moved away from impressionism to create a new art driven less by observation than by imagination. His gifts as an artist were matched by his talent for creating myths about places, cultures, and most of all, himself.

"Paul Gauguin's legend as a transgressive genius arises as much from his biography as his aesthetically daring Polynesian paintings. Gauguin is chiefly known for his pictures that eschewed convention, to celebrate the beauty of an indigenous people and their culture. In this gorgeously illustrated, myth-busting work, Sue Prideaux reveals that while Gauguin was a complicated man, his scandalous reputation is largely undeserved.Self-taught, Gauguin...