Introduction to Vlaminck, Derain, Fauvism Review/ Introduction to Vlaminck, Derain, and Other Figures

Influences on Fauvism: Paul Cezanne - Matisse had bought his Three Bathers (1899); he had called him ‘the master of us all’. His influence included: painting as the subject each for given equal weight bare canvas allowed to show colours of shadows are as strong as colours in light areas distant colours as strong as foreground ones flattening of pictorial space

Influences on Fauvism: Paul Signac - A disciple of Seurat, Signac and became friends and painted in St. Tropez together. His influence includes: Pointillism and giving pigments the same luminosity; unmixed colours being used used technique to give the spectator experience of optical vibration harmonious colour more than complementary colour

Influences on Fauvism: Vincent Van Gogh - said of his art, “I use colour in a completely arbitrary way in order to express myself powerfully”. Very influential on Vlaminck. His influences included: impasto brushwork brushwork to follow the forms being painted strong use of complementary colours use of black and dark blue to create outlines subjective use of colour

Influences on Fauvism: Paul Gauguin - Matisse first saw his work at the Salon d’Automne in 1904 and again in Collioure in 1905. His influences included: flattened space paint is laid with broad brushstrokes in flat areas use of heavy black outlines exotic, arcadian subject matter larger figure groupings subjective use of colour

Paul Gauguin. Joyeuseté (Arearea). 1892. Paul Cézanne. Three Bathers. c. 1875-77 Vincent van Gogh. Painter’s bedroom 1889 Paul Signac. Woman Taking up Her Hair. 1892

The Influence of Nietzsche The German philosopher was active between the 1870s to 1890s before suffering a mental breakdown. He is famous for concepts such as: the struggle between Dionysian and Apollonian principals the idea of the ubermensche or superman the concept that “God is dead” In his works Thus Spake Zarathustra and The Will to Power he wrote about the role of the artist as a prophet, that they could show ordinary people how to be extraordinary. Nietzsche is quoted as saying: “An artist chooses his subjects… that is the way he praises.”

Fauvism and Primitive Art The primitive world, eg. Africa and Polynesia, had a huge impact on artists like Gauguin and the Fauves because of the effects that the Industrial Revolution had on Europe --> the exploitation of nature Primitive art and cultures had a closeness and harmony with nature that was missing in Europe, especially for its subjective and expressive form and it’s lack of concern with anatomical correctness African masks were collected and passed around by the artists in Paris (Vlaminck, Derain, Matisse, and Picasso). They were strongly affected by the strong, alien form --> characteristics began showing rhrough in their art Matisse said of modern art, “Modern art is an art of invention; its starting point is an outburst of feeling. So by its very essence it is closer to the archaic arts than it is to Renaissance art.”

Henri Matisse. Blue Nude. (Souvenir de Biskra). 1907.

Blue Nude Painted after a brief visit to Northern Africa in 1906 Matisse was taken with the sculpture that the he saw the African artists doing because of the freedom they showed and the invention of new forms rather than copying existing ones. This painting is blend of European traditionalism (ie. reclining nude) with the form of tribal sculpture. Not concerned with creating the idealised female form, nor correctness of proportion, he emphasises the bulkiness of the form by placing the hip at the centre of the painting and leading the eye back, from the thigh, to the fern frond that copies the same shape as the hip.

Andre Derain La Danse 1906

La Danse The group of figures performing a primitive dance in a jungle is one of many that he did. Symbolic of the freedom of the primitive people he captures, it is also indicative of Bacchic dance models from ancient Greece. The scene is composted similar to an Egyptian frieze (and similar to Gauguin’s later works). Unnatural, warm colours used to create their own sense of movement, reinforced by the spiralling left hand dancer which are echoed in the vegetation and snake. Suggestion that this has a Christian meaning behind it, ie. the Fall of Man and the theme of good vs. evil (symbols such as the fruit tree and serpent) It might also be acting as a link with nature that he imagined in exotic parts of the world --> arcadia

André Derain (1880-1954) In 1900, he met and shared a studio with Vlaminck in Chatou and began to paint his first landscapes. One of the first to discover African art, to feel the zest of popular imagery and the richness of folklore, to admire the beauty of the primitives. Painted with Matisse in Collioureand exhibited with his at the Salon d’Automne in 1905. He was also friends with Braques and Picasso at this time. In his canvases there is no harsh, carelessness which indicates violence of instinct. His work tends to be harmonies of proportions and tones, carefully composed. He employed the segmented touch, the swift curve, and garish colours.

Andre Derain, Collioure, 1905, Oil on canvas.

Andre Derain, The Pool of London, 1906, Oil on canvas.

Andre Derain, Charing Cross Bridge, London (1906), Oil on canvas.

Claude Monet, The Houses of Parliament, 1903. Charing Cross Bridge, London and The Pool of London 1906 he was commissioned dealer Ambroise Vollard to paint views of London in the Fauvist-style, like Monet had done previously. Unlike Monet, who was focused on light and atmosphere, Derain was concerned with the liveliness of the Thames as a commercial waterway. He combines aspects of Gauguin’s use of flat planes of colour and Cezanne’s tilted use of perspective. Claude Monet, The Houses of Parliament, 1903.

Andre Derain, Trees, L’Estaque, 1906.

Andre Derain, The bend in the road, L’Estaque, 1906, Oil on canvas.

Trees, L’Estaque and The bend in the road, L’Estaque Done after his return from London, these works show the influence of Gauguin, again with the large, flat area of colour. The figures are reduced to almost child-like sketches, showing a focus on the painting itself as a method for harmony of colour rather than a representation of the world. There is a certain lack of perspective and the colours flatten the space. Only relative sclae indicate depth. Japanese influences can be seen in the high viewpoint and balanced composition. ‘White pockets’ of air which separated the blocks of fierce colour of previous year eradicated.

Maurice De Vlaminck (1876-1958) He was a professional cyclist until his athletic career was cut short when he contracted Typhoid fever in 1896. Eventually, he joined the military. While on military leave, he met André Derain as they were from near the same hometown of Chatou in the north of France. Vlaminck had little art training, and only began to paint seriously after collaborating with Derain. He even boasted his lack of training and rejected academic-style art. His artistic style was strongly influenced by Vincent Van Gogh after seeing an exhibit in 1901. He said that he loved Van Gogh more than his own father. His work is the most raw of the Fauves, some think partially due to his lack of training and due to his rather large, muscular physique.

Vlaminck, Restaurant de la Machine at Bougival, 1905

Vlaminck, Landscape, the bois mort, 1905-06, Oil on Canvas.

Landscape, the bois mort Marked by bold, non-naturalistic colours and seemingly chaotic compositions. Exquisite example of Vlaminck’s early style of Fauvism because of the vibrant colours, two-dimensional flat surface, and the creative view of a landscape. Subject Matter- This is one of Vlaminck's many landscape works. In this particular painting there are trees and bushes with a building or house in the background. From his thick hands came topsy-turvy forms and frenzied colours, the canvas teeming with kinks, thrusts, and twists of paint that looks freshly squeezed from tubes rather than applied by the brush.

Vincent van Gogh, The Iris, 1889, Oil on canvas.

Maurice de Vlaminck, Landscape with Red Trees, 1906, oil on canvas.

Landscape with Red Trees This is an example of Vlaminck’s use of paint straight from the tube, ie. the application of thick, impasto paint The colours are not mixed together, which lends to the vibrancy of the work. Like Van Gogh, broad brushstrokes define the shape of the objects of the still life (eg. the trees, the houses, the road), yet the canvas underneath has been allowed to show through. Unlike Matisse and Derain, Vlaminck’s work is very rough and raw. His work never really became as refined and methodical as the other Fauves. Vlaminck said of his art that painting was a “way of being”. In 1906 Vlaminck was fortunate to have his entire studio’s work bought be art collector Vollard, which not only allowed him focus solely on his art without concern of finance, but it lifted his spirit and allowed him to have his most fruitful summer and create stunningly vibrant art.

Other proponents of Fauvism: (all French) George Braque Raoul Dufy Henri Manguin Albert Marquet

George Braque, Landscape at L'Estaque, 1906.

On the 4th of July at Le Havre 1906 Raoul Dufy On the 4th of July at Le Havre 1906 Jeanne dans les fleurs, 1907

Jeanne Resting at Villa Demiere 1905 Henri Manguin The Prints 1905 Jeanne Resting at Villa Demiere 1905

Albert Marquet Fishing Boats 1906 The Fair at Le Havre 1906

Kees Van Dongen Woman in Green Tights 1905 Woman in a Green Hat 1907

What happened to Fauvism and who did it influence? Many Fauve artists ended up following the path of Picasso and the Cubists and some become more Expressionistic. WWI happens, some of the artists go off to fight in the war. Between 1905-1911 some artists from Germany came to see what was happening in Paris. These artists included Ernst Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Wassily Kandinsky (the artists who eventually formed the Die Brucke and Der Blaue Reiter respectively). Matisse, in essence, stays the only ‘pure’ Fauvist, staying true the Fauve principals.

Matisse. Pink Nude. 1935.

Like Picasso and Synthetic Cubism, Matisse, too weak to stand at an easel in his old age, created papercuts, carving in colored paper, scissoring out shapes, and collaging them into sometimes vast pictures. Matisse. Blue Nude IV. 1952.