MIDDLEBURY — Great art comes to the screen at Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater next Wednesday, Dec. 12. “Gauguin: The Full Story” is the first full-length biography of one of the world’s most popular yet controversial artists. Gauguin is best known for his gorgeous paintings of Tahiti, in which beautiful native girls frolic enticingly on perfect South Pacific beaches. But have these celebrated portrayals of an earthly paradise been misunderstood? And has the fame of Gauguin’s Tahiti pictures blinded us to the bigger truth about his achievements?
Art critic Waldemar Januszczak believes so, and his epic biography of Gauguin follows the painter through countless twists and turns in a remarkable life that takes him from an idyllic and forgotten childhood in Peru to a horrific and notorious death on the Marquesas Islands. The Gauguin who emerges from this radical re-telling of his story was not only a great painter but also a sculptor, musician, print maker, journalist and ceramicist. The film also refutes the various accusations of sexual misconduct, familial neglect and racism that are frequently made against Gauguin,  and proposes a completely new understanding of his place in art.
Hailed by The Times as “the finest artistic biography ever made,” “Gauguin: The Full Story” features a stunning collection of Gauguin’s masterpieces shot in museums and galleries around the world, including paintings put on show at the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg which haven’t been seen in public since their disappearance during World War II.
Note: This documentary contains adult themes and depictions of nudity. Parents should be advised. Run time is two hours.
Showtimes for Wednesday’s film are at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $13/$8 (includes a $1 preservation fee) and are available at townhalltheater.org, (802) 382-9222, at the THT box office Monday-Saturday, 12-5 p.m., or at the door an hour before show time.