early life and artistic beginnings charles laval, a french painter, was born in paris on march 17, 1861. his life was marked by an early association with prominent artists of his time, including paul gauguin and vincent van gogh. laval's artistic journey began in the synthetic movement and the pont-aven school, a group known for its primitivist themes and synthetist style. artistic collaborations and influences in 1886, laval collaborated with paul gauguin at pension gloanec in pont-aven, leading to their joint expedition to panama in search of an exoticism that could inspire art. this collab…