Fauvism Henri Matisse Blue Nude (1907)

Overview o Fauvism was a very short lived movement with it’s peak lasting from 1905 – o The movement was launched at the 1905 Salon d’Automne in Paris, France. o It was mainly present in France, Belgium and the Netherlands but also spread to Poland and parts of Russia.

Name The name for the movement came from Louis Vauxcelles, a critic at the Salon d’Automne. The exhibition consisted of some early Fauvist pieces and Renaissance artworks. Vauxcelles said it was like seeing Donatello amongst ‘les Fauves’ which is French for wild beasts, due to the wild style and vivid colours of the paintings. Jean Puy Flânerie sous les pins (1905)

Origin o Both Matisse and Derain studied under Gustave Moreau ( ), a symbolist painter at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Moreau was considered the movement’s inspirational teacher until Matisse was recognized as such in1904. o Both were inspired to create their own new style which was pretty radical at the time. They looked to symbolist and impressionist painters for inspiration but adopted a much simpler style of drawing coupled with exaggerated or abstracted colours. Gustave Moreau Self-portrait (1850)

Important Artists o Henri Matisse ( ) – King of the Wild Beasts o Andre Derain ( ) – Fellow founding father o Maurice de Vlaminck ( ) o Georges Braque ( ) o Charles Camoin ( ) o Jean Puy ( ) Georges Braque Estaque, the harbour (1906) Maurice de Vlaminck Restaurant de la Machine a Bougival (1905)

Henri Matisse o Some of Matisse’s most notable works are ‘Woman with a Hat’ (1905) and ‘Blue Nude (1907) o The critic Camille Mauclair said that “A pot of paint had been flung in the face of the public” about the Fauvist pieces at the Salon d’Automne. Henri Matisse Woman with a Hat (1905)

Andre Derain o Some of Derain’s most well known pieces are ‘Portrait of Matisse’ and ‘Charing Cross Bridge’ (1906) o Inspired by Monet’s impressionist paintings of London, he was asked to create his own versions in He visited many of the same places Monet painted. o Derain later went on to help Georges Braque find the Cubism movement. Andre Derain Charing Cross Bridge (1906)

End of the Movement o By 1906, Fauvism was at the height of its popularity and seen as the most refined form of French painting. But by the end of the year the novelty had worn off with many of the artists moving on to new areas of expressionism like Die Bruche. o Matisse dabbled in many different styles over his life, but ultimately remained loyal to the Fauvist palette of bold, almost gaudy colours. He remained fascinated by colour throughout his life. Henri Matisse Les toits de Collioure (1905)