Gauguin studied at the Petit Séminaire de La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin boarding school, and later at the Loriol Institute and Lycée Jeanne D'Arc. His first career was as a pilot's assistant, and then he joined the French navy.
After this, he worked as a stockbroker. It was only after the stock market crash in 1882 that Gauguin decided to start painting full time.
It is generally believed today that Gauguin did not receive the fame and support he should have during his lifetime. He was a painter who was made popular after his death.
The art dealer, Ambroise Vollard, organised posthumous exhibitions of Gauguin's works and made him better known to the public.
The Market Gardens of Vaugirard is a landscape painting of the market gardens located to the south of the Seine River in Paris. The artist lived in the neighbourhood, and knew the area well.
This painting was done by Gauguin from his house, looking out at the scenery outside. This painting is heavily influenced by the works of Camille Pissarro and Paul Cezanne, and was completed in 1879.
The painting depicts the Seine flowing and beyond that are trees and buildings.
The sky is cloudy, which emphasises the colours in the rest of the scenery. There is also a lone tree on the artist's side of the river. The painting is done in a patchy and broad manner, which emphasises the structure over the atmosphere.
The Market Gardens of Vaugirard is a classic Impressionist painting, though Gauguin's later Synthetist style is also slightly visible in it.
The work was exhibited at the fifth Impressionist exhibition, and was one among eight paintings by Gauguin.
Though the painting originally received lukewarm reviews, it is considered a masterpiece nowadays. Today, it hangs at the Smith College Museum of Art in Massachusetts in the USA.
