The Fauves

1. The Fauves 1905 -1908

2. The Fauves The first of the major avant-garde movements in European 20th century art, Fauvism was characterised by paintings that used intensely vivid, non-naturalistic and exuberant colours. The style was essentially expressionist, and generally featured landscapes in which forms were distorted. Matisse. Portrait of Madame Matisse (The green line), 1905,

3. Influences • Fauvism can be classified as an extreme development of • Van Gogh's Post-Impressionism fused with the • pointillism of Seurat and other Neo-Impressionist painters, in particular • Paul Signac. • Paul Cezanne and • Paul Gauguin

4. Paul Gauguin had said to Paul Sérusier in 1888 : “How do you see these trees? They are yellow. So, put in yellow; this shadow, rather blue, paint it with pure ultramarine; these red leaves? Put in vermilion.” Vision After the Sermon, Jacob Wrestling with the Angel . Gauguin 1888.

5. The Fauves first exhibited together in 1905 in Salon d'Automne, Paris. They found their name when a critic pointed to a renaissance-like sculpture in the middle of the same gallery as the exhibition and exclaimed derisively 'Donatello au milieu des fauves!' ('Donatello among the wild beasts!'). The name caught on, and was gleefully accepted by the artists themselves. The Turning Road, L´Estaque; Andre Derain (1906)

6. The paintings caused controversy due to their expressed emotion and wild, often dissonant colour, with little regard for the subject's natural tones. • Matisse’s painting ‘Woman with the Hat at the Salon’ caused much outrage . Critic Camille Mauclair exclaimed "A pot of paint has been flung in the face of the public“ • It did however receasve some favourable attention.The painting that was singled out for attacks was Matisse's Woman with a Hat, which was bought by Gertrude and Leo Stein: this had a very positive effect on Matisse, who was suffering demoralization from the bad reception of his work.

7. The movement was subjected to more mockery and abuse as it developed, but began to gain respect when major art buyers, such as Gertrude Stein, took an interest. The leading artists involved were Matisse, Rouault, Derain, Vlaminck, Braque and Dufy. Although short-lived (1905-8), Fauvism was extremely influential in the evolution of 20th century art. Derain, The Dance. 1905-6

8. Andre DerainBorn: 1880Died: 1954Gender: MaleNationality: French Andre Derain was born in Chaton on the outskirts of Paris, the son of a successful pastry cook. From 1898 to 1899 he studied at the Academie Carriere meeting Matisse and in 1900, Vlaminck. After a spell in the army, Derain participated in the Salon d'Automne in which his Fauvist portrait of Matisse first appeared. By 1907 he had started working in the Cubist idiom but four years later his style was becoming influenced by Byzantine art and African art.. In the 1920s he favoured the work of the Old Masters and produced landscapes, portraits and still-lifes in a surprisingly conservative fashion considering his avant-garde roots. He only had one individual show in Europe at the Brummer Gallery in 1922 but he continued to work prolifically and in 1928 won the Carnegie Prize for his 'Still-life with Dead Game' (c.1918) at the 27th Annual Carnegie International. A decade later, when Germany occupied France, his work escaped destruction, and was seen as upholding the classical tradition instead. He was thus put to work helping the Nazis prepare propaganda material. After the war he worked in theatre designing sets and costumes. As a result of his involvement with the Nazis during the war, the French eyed Derain with suspicion. Certain critics feel he never quite fulfilled his early promise, while others see his work as a reconfiguring of many elements of French art history into something new and distinctive. DERAIN, AndrePortrait of Matisse 1905 Oil on canvas46 x 35 cm (18 1/8 x 13 3/4 in.)

9. Henri Matisse • Henri Matisse (31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a Frenchartist, known for his use of colour and his fluid, brilliant and original draftsmanship. • As a draftsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but principally as a painter, Matisse is one of the best-known artists of the 20th century. • Although he was initially labeled as a Fauve (wild beast), by the 1920s, he was increasingly hailed as an upholder of the classical tradition in French painting • His mastery of the expressive language of colour and drawing, displayed in a body of work spanning over a half-century, won him recognition as a leading figure in modern art.

10. Henri MatisseBorn: 1869Died: 1954Gender: MaleNationality: French Matisse began by studying law in Paris but by 1891 had taken up art instead, becoming a student at the Académie Julian in Paris under Bouguereau. He left a year later, however, displeased with Bougereau's teaching, and unofficially joined the Ecole des Beaux-Arts studying with Rouault, Piot, Guerin and Bussy amongst others. By 1896 Matisse had four of his paintings accepted for exhibition at the Salon du Champ-de-Mars, he sold two of them. A year later he saw the work of Camille Pissarro and van Gogh and was deeply impressed. In 1900 Matisse had fallen on hard times and had to paint exhibition decorations at the Grand Palais to make a living. He continued with his painting, however, and, after having experimented with still-lifes and landscapes in the late-Nineties turned to Neo-Impressionism and produced one of his first major works in 1905. 'Luxe, calme et volupte' (1904-1905) was exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants and bought by Signac. In the same year Matisse and his friends caused a sensation at the Salon d'Automne giving rise to the name, 'Fauves'. He also found himself important patrons in the American Steins thus solving his financial difficulties. His paintings were brightly coloured and contain a deep sensuality, for example, 'Pink Nude' (1935) and one of his most uplifting paintings, 'Large Red Interior'. He worked constantly throughout his life, creating possibly his masterpiece between 1949 and 1951 in the Chapel of the Rosary at Vence. It was a dedication to the woman who nursed him back to health after a serious illness and later became a nun. Matisse designed every aspect of the convent in immaculate detail. Other digressions from his painting include sculpting, for example, 'The Back I-IV' (1909-1929) and an original technique involving the arrangement of brightly-coloured cut-out shapes into abstract patterns. He also designed sets and costumes for Diaghilev and was a supreme book illustrator. Whatever Matisse turned his hand to, his work always shows a lightness and airy quality. He loved colour and vitality and was loathe to represent tragedy. Alongside Picasso he was internationally renowned from the 1920s onwards.

11. Henri Matisse. Luxe, Calme, et Volupté, (luxury, tranquillity and pleasure) 1904-05. Oil on canvas

12. Maurice De Vlaminck (1876 - 1958)Nationality: French Born in Paris, Maurice de Vlaminck was mostly self-taught except for the influence of Van Gogh and Gauguin. He helped to establish the Fauvist movement along with Andre Derain and Henri Matisse. Beginning in 1908, de Vlaminck began painting realist landscapes in the style of Paul Cezanne. After serving in World War I, he retreated to a remote location and continued creating a more subdued and ominous style of Expressionism Maurice De Vlaminck. 1907Landscape with Red Trees

13. RAOUL DUFYBorn: 1877Died: 1953Gender: MaleNationality: French In 1905 to 1906 Dufy worked in the Fauvist movement, in which colour was one of the most important factors to many though design was the primary concern for Dufy. He was intent on depicting the 'unseen'. He also encountered other challenging movements and centres such as Cézanne's Provence and Expressionist Germany, but being sure of his direction was never seduced by them, although he was certainly open to experimentation. Dufy invented rather than represented nature. He was extraordinarily optimistic and this is evident in his airy paintings. He understood the world in terms of decorative art and indeed turned his attention to textile design for a while, which like his paintings were a tapestry of clear colours. The figures in his paintings are often like characters in a play, for example 'Harlequin in the Venetian Manner' (1939) in which a particular figure takes centre stage and directs the emotions of the audience. In this way he found great joy in depicting public events with their pomp and ceremony, such as 'The Coronation of King George VI' (1937). Many argue that his paintings lack substance, others say that they simply express a delight in life.