Gauguin by Himself

Gauguin by Himself Edited by Belinda Thomson (Bulfinch, $65) Gauguin, the 19th-century runaway, fled Europe for the tropical climes that inspired his images of dark-skinned, bare-breasted beauties. But in his letters, many of which are translated here for the first time, we see him as an eloquent writer, as quick to criticize himself as his peers. (In a letter to Pissarro, he snipes at Renoir's Italian paintings: ''I find them absolutely intolerable.'') The reader is invited into Gauguin's influential circle of friends, which included the Van Gogh brothers, Degas, and Cezanne. Ultimately, we sense his growing despair and understand his retreat from the European art community. And although the reproductions are a bit dark, they serve as adequate illustrations for Gauguin's poetic prose. A- -Rebecca Ascher-Walsh