André Derain, Henri Matisse, realism, fauvism, Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Louvre, Paris, oil on canvas, port of Collioure, painting, perspective
A. Derain was born in Chatou in 1880 to a middle-class family. He began painting in 1895. From 1898 to 1899, he studied at the Camillo Academy in Paris. He met H. Matisse in 1901 at the Louvre, where he began copying works in a caricatured manner. In 1901, he rebelled against his family, who did not support his artistic path. Together with M. Vlaminck (whom he had met in 1900), he rented a studio in Chatou, a town full of canoes and dance halls. It was an ideal place to paint and attracted a large number of Impressionists. This period marked the beginnings of Fauvism.
[...] Birth of Fauvism Fauvism can be described as the French version of Northern European expressionism. It followed symbolism. It was the first movement to make a complete break with naturalism. It was more a manifesto against a narrow-minded society than a founded movement. Artists of this period felt a lack of confidence in the government and the Church: "An intense need to express these revolts drove me to write or paint" M. Vlaminck. Henri Matisse, André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck, former students of Gustave Moreau, were the pioneers of Fauvism. [...]
[...] His works reflect the diversity of the artists who have inspired him. Fascinated by the works of V.Van Gogh for their intensity, A.Derain was led to experiment with "violent" colour contrasts, chromatic exaggerations, discordances, agitated compositions, tormented aspects, a choppy style... He reused arbitrary distortions, gave free rein to his spontaneity and appealed to the imagination. He was also influenced by P.Signac for the simplification of forms and C.Monet for the subjective use of colour. He was inspired by H.Matisse for the flat tints of colour. P. [...]
[...] Art was no longer simply a succession of developments: artists were looking for new paths and were no longer content to renew the legacies of past generations. In the first half of the twentieth century, artists showed a desire to react against the mirages of C. Monet. This did not mean that Impressionism disappeared, but rather that it was transformed. This aesthetic transformation was largely brought about by P. Cézanne, nicknamed the "father of modern painting". While Impressionism aimed to capture a fleeting moment, Cézanne painted still elements. [...]
[...] The movement really took off in 1905, at the Salon d'Automne. It was particularly criticised, notably by Louis Vauxelles, who described the exhibition as a "cage for Fauves", referring to the "roar" of the colours. He thus gave the movement its name. Features At the Salon des Indépendants in 1907, Gil Blas poked fun at the artist, writing: "M. Matisse, head fawn; M. Derain, deputy head fawn; MM. Girieud, indecisive, distinguished, Italianate fawn; Mr Czobel, uneducated, Hungarian or Polish fawn; Mr Bereny, apprentice fawn; and Mr Delaunay, enfantelet, fauvicule...". [...]
[...] It opposed traditional rigour and caused a scandal. Its favourite theme was landscapes; portraits and still lifes were fairly rare. The works were cheerful, with the exception of those by G. Rouault. A Short-Lived Movement We cannot speak of a Fauvist school because the artists were independent: they worked at a distance from each other and then turned towards other paths. This divergence was visible from 1907: it was the end of the movement. Fauvism left tradition behind. It made experimentation feasible and opened up the field of possibilities: it thus initiated a succession of revolutions. [...]
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