Fauvism
also: Les Fauves
Fauvism was a brief but pivotal movement in French painting, named when the critic Louis Vauxcelles called its young exhibitors 'les fauves' (wild beasts) at the Salon d'Automne of 1905. Led by Henri Matisse, with André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck and others, the Fauves released color from description: a face could be green, a tree blue, shadow vermilion, with the painting's harmony built from pure pigment rather than observed light. Broad flat areas, strong outlines and sketch-like directness gave the work its shock. The movement had largely run its course by 1908, but its lesson - color as an independent expressive force - became a foundation of twentieth-century art.
Defining characteristics
- Wild, arbitrary, non-naturalistic color chosen for expression, not description
- Broad flat areas of pure, often unmixed pigment
- Strong outlines and simplified, flattened forms
- Energetic, visible brushwork with sketch-like directness
- Light suggested by the interaction of color patches rather than by shading
Key figures
- Henri Matisse (1869-1954) — Leader of the Fauves who made color the structure of painting
- André Derain (1880-1954) — Painted the blazing London landscapes of the movement's peak
- Maurice de Vlaminck (1876-1958) — The most instinctive Fauve, squeezing tube color straight onto the canvas
- Raoul Dufy (1877-1953) — Fauve painter of bright, decorative scenes and stenographic line
Example works
- Woman with a Hat — Henri Matisse (1905)
- Le Bonheur de Vivre — Henri Matisse (1905-1906)
Sources
- Fauvism - Wikipedia encyclopedia