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Smoking Mirror: An Encounter with Paul Gauguin

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By Douglas Rees
Publisher Watson-Guptill Publications, Incorporated
Smoking Mirror: An Encounter with Paul Gauguin
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A Junior Library Guild Selection A haunting, deeply affecting book. Set on the island of Tahiti, this story of artist Paul Gauguin and the young man he immortalized in his paintings reads like a tropical breezeeasy and relaxed at first feel, but hinting at dangerous storms brewing ahead. Highly recommended.Brent Hartinger, author ofThe Order of the Poison OakandThe Last Chance Texaco This second book in the new Art Encounters series centers on Paul Gauguins paintingLandscape with Peacocks, orMatamoe, and recreates the world the artist found in Tahiti when he painted the picture in 1892. This actionpacked South Sea adventure is about a young sailor, Joe Sloan, and his mission to avenge the death of his friend, Robert. Joe searches for Roberts girlfriend, a Tahitian girl named Tehane, to deliver the sad news personally. He doesnt have to go far before fate reunites him with his friends killer, the Marquesan warrior, Gun, and his evil master, a man known as the White Wolf. As Joe navigates the unknown territory of Tahiti and its people, he finds an unlikely ally in French artist Paul Gauguin. In the course of the story, readers are introduced to Gauguin and his work, the artists relationships with the Tahitian natives, and his artistic temperament. Paul Gauguin in Tahiti Paul Gauguin spent his life searching for paradise, a propensity that must have been set during his vagabond youth spent sailing around the world. He became a painter relatively late in life, with encouragement from Pissarro, Czanne, and other impressionists. Ever the outsider, Gauguin left France and sailed for Tahiti in 1891 to escape debt and ruin, as well as everything that is artificial and conventional. But to his deep disappointment, Tahiti was not the tropical paradise he had imagined. It had been thoroughly westernized. Nonetheless, he settled in Papeete and created some of his finest paintings. He had not found the simplicity of primitive life, so he painted it in such works asLandscape with Peacocks,orMatamoe. Except for one visit to France, he remained in the South Pacific for the rest of his life. For readers 12 and up The second book in the new Art Encounters series Gauguin is frequently studied in elementary school because of the importance of his art to the postimpressionist period The story is based around Gauguins paintingLandscape with Peacocks, orMatamoe(Pushkin Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia)

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40353 words40,353 words
176 pages176 pages
Lexile 610LLexile 610L
Published 2005Published 2005

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Hear it range Hear it mate Hear it serve Hear it file Hear it pad Hear it prove Hear it represent Hear it process Hear it flop Hear it stack Hear it spirit Hear it rough Hear it steep Hear it estimate Hear it release Hear it mention Hear it marine Hear it gear Hear it yarn Hear it minister Hear it title Hear it frame Hear it raise Hear it authority Hear it ham Hear it cheap Hear it conversation Hear it tough Hear it position Hear it rich Hear it iron Hear it common Hear it blind Hear it ease Hear it gobble Hear it regular Hear it art Hear it proper Hear it worship Hear it blade Hear it honest Hear it require Hear it lump Hear it associate Hear it poke Hear it master Hear it disappoint Hear it limit Hear it tune Hear it fellow Hear it trial Hear it faint Hear it date Hear it reef Hear it drunker Hear it plain Hear it fund Hear it barrel Hear it port Hear it palm Hear it buffalo Hear it rag Hear it reputation Hear it expect Hear it tide Hear it doubt Hear it braid Hear it exist Hear it parade Hear it fierce Hear it stocking Hear it permit Hear it evidence Hear it revenge Hear it peace Hear it introduce Hear it damnedest Hear it launch Hear it investigate Hear it exchange Hear it split Hear it polite Hear it theme Hear it intelligence Hear it recognize Hear it nightmare Hear it copy Hear it administrator Hear it shy Hear it dawn Hear it jail Hear it hammer Hear it ranch Hear it aim Hear it rear Hear it unpack Hear it admire Hear it wine Hear it bundle Hear it settler
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Book ISBN:

9780823048632

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