Editing Paul Gauguin (section)

=== Gauguin and colonialism ===
In the 21st century, Gauguin's [[Primitivism|Primitivist]] representations of Tahiti and its people have been a subject of controversy and renewed scholarly attention.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Maleuvre |first=Didier |date=2018 |title=The Trial of Paul Gauguin |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/90021833 |journal=Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=197–213 |issn=0027-1276 |jstor=90021833}}</ref> His depictions of Polynesian women have been described as "racial fantasy forged from a position of [[Patriarchy|patriarchal]], colonialist power" with some critics pointing to Gauguin's [[hebephilia|sexual relationships with teenage Tahitian girls]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mendelsohn |first=Meredith |date=2017-08-03 |title=Why Is the Art World Divided over Gauguin's Legacy? |url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-art-divided-gauguins-legacy |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=Artsy |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Nayeri |first=Farah |date=2019-11-18 |title=Is It Time Gauguin Got Canceled? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/arts/design/gauguin-national-gallery-london.html |access-date=2023-03-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

On the other hand, a 2025 biography ''Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin'' by [[Sue Prideaux]] describes him and his works in a different light: he believed in gender and culture equity, he followed local Polynesian customs, his Tahitian lovers were older than previously thought, and his Danish wife didn't disapprove of his works. He was celebrated as a defender of the locals against the French colonialist oppression. Based on new forensic evidence and accounts of his doctors, he hadn't contracted syphilis so couldn't spread it either. Arguably, this is the light in which his works should be interpreted as well.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Prideaux |first=Sue |date=2025-03-17 |title=‘The Polynesians loved him’: the astonishing revelations that cast Paul Gauguin in a new light |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/mar/17/polynesians-astonishing-revelations-paul-gauguin-syphilis-underage |access-date=2025-03-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>