Expectations are that the interest aroused by the exhibition of the art of Paul Gauguin; modern French painter, which opened yesterday at the Fogg Museum, will be comparable to that which was stirred up by the Van Gogh exhibition in Boston last winter.

This exhibit of the works of the great artist, who is noted especially for his Tahitian paintings, is one of the most comprehensive ever held and includes works from many great museums, such as the Louvre in Paris, and various private owners.

It is truly fitting that the Gauguin exhibit should follow that of Van Gogh, for the two artists were kindred spirits in the world of art. Both at the end of the nineteenth century led the way out of the cramping formula of Impressionism and to both color was a means of expressing feeling and thought.

Gauguin in his break with Impression evolved a new theory of his own, Synthesism, which was followed and carried to an even further degree by such men as Matisse, Derain, and Vlaminck. This theory is a conscious grouping of selected forms with strong and evident pattern, while the colors used are absolute rather than naturalistic, effects of sunlight and atmosphere being disregarded.

It 1891 Gauguin, tiring of his life in France, went to Tahiti to live and there he did his greatest works. There he achieved in his art an unsurpassed decorative quality combined with a wonderful gift for design and color.

Next Saturday in this column there will be a discussion of specific paintings and prints in the exhibition.Self-Portalt, by Paul Gaughin