Modernism

Fauvism
"A pot of paint has been flung in the face of the public"

Fauvist artwork is instantly recognizable. Bold, bright, unnatural colors block out the subject in big fatty brushstrokes. It’s so colorful it’s hard to look at. It’s unapologetic and childlike. The phrase avant-garde has been overused, but here’s what it’s supposed to mean: something so fiercely, intensely new it makes you uncomfortable. The Fauves, a name meaning wild beasts in French, were the first avant-garde movement of the Modern Era. They scared people.

But what does it take to create an Avant-garde movement? For artists to develop revolutionary work, they need three things: encouragement, inspiration, and outrage.

So we begin in 1890 with five young artists: Henri Matisse, Henri Manguin, Albert Marquet, Charles Camoin, and Georges Rouault. The young men were in their early 20s and they were lucky, because they were studying at the famous French art school École des Beaux-Arts, and their professor was the noted eccentric Gustave Moreau. Moreau was profoundly individualistic, and pushed his students to paint from the deepest part of themselves. Matisse later said of Moreau, “He did not set us on the right roads, but off the roads. He disturbed our complacency.”

Next, inspiration. In 1896, Matisse spent ten days with the impressionist John Peter Russell and was so shaken by the Australian artist’s use of bright color, he left saying he “couldn’t stand it any more". But bold color had gotten under Matisse’s skin, and he brought the experience back to his friends at the Beaux-Arts, where they began to experiment with what they called color structure—flat areas of bold color used to create mood.

At the same time, west of Paris in a small studio, the two friends André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck were goofing around in a rented studio, writing pornographic novels and painting. It was a relaxed affair until 1901, when Vlaminck saw an exhibition of Vincent Van Gogh’s vivid post-impressionist artwork (it’s been suggested that Van Gogh was color blind, and that his own use of color would’ve shocked him). Vlaminck was electrified, and he and Derain got serious about painting, aggressively applying color straight from the tube.

The new movement was ready to explode. In 1905, Matisse visited Vlaminck and Derain’s studio and found kindred spirits. He invited the pair to join him and his tight-knit group of color-fiends in a veritable take-over of the Salon d'Automne, a world-famous art exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris. The artists brought their boldest work, and splashed into the public scene.

Now for the outrage. Matisse was in the Salon, in the room where his paintings and his friends’ paintings were ringed around a renaissance statue, when the noted art critic and grouchy old man Louis Vauxcelles approached him. “Un Donatello parmi les fauves!” A Donatello among the wild beasts! exclaims Vauxcelles in horror at the shocking new style. The phrase so delighted Matisse that he adopted it, and the group, now official counterculture, became the wild beasts—Le Fauves.

Favism was a transitional style for most of the artists that showed their work in the infamous 1905 Salon. Matisse exploded in popularity and explored an enormous variety of styles and mediums, Andre Derain eventually returned to classicism and adopted a moody gothic style, and Vlaminck’s heavy outlines and dark colors influenced the development of Expressionism in Germany. But for a brief moment, a few inspired artists had given the art world a good hard shake, and created a scary, fun, wildly avant-garde movement.


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Reed Enger, "Fauvism, "A pot of paint has been flung in the face of the public"," in Obelisk Art History, Published January 27, 2015; last modified November 06, 2022, http://www.arthistoryproject.com/timeline/modernism/fauvism/?sort=-modified.

Read More
Bougival, André Derain

Bougival André Derain, 1904

Collioure, André Derain

Collioure André Derain, 1905

Madame Matisse in a Kimono, André Derain

Madame Matisse in a Kimono André Derain, 1905

Port, André Derain

Port André Derain, 1905

The Woman with a Hat, Henri Matisse

The Woman with a Hat Henri Matisse, 1905

Charing Cross Bridge, London, André Derain

Charing Cross Bridge, London André Derain, 1906

Landscape near Antwerp, Georges Braque

Landscape near Antwerp Georges Braque, 1906

London Bridge, André Derain

London Bridge André Derain, 1906

Promenade among the Olive Trees, Henri Matisse

Promenade among the Olive Trees Henri Matisse, 1905 – 1906

Self Portrait in a Striped T-shirt, Henri Matisse

Self Portrait in a Striped T-shirt Henri Matisse, 1906

The Young Sailor, Henri Matisse

The Young Sailor Henri Matisse, 1906

Two Barges, André Derain

Two Barges André Derain, 1906

Woman in a Chemise, André Derain

Woman in a Chemise André Derain, 1906

Blue Nude, Henri Matisse

Blue Nude Henri Matisse, 1907

Road in the Mountains, André Derain

Road in the Mountains André Derain, 1907

Molen Mill in Sunlight, Piet Mondrian

Molen Mill in Sunlight Piet Mondrian, 1908

Expression, for me, does not reside in passions glowing in a human face or manifested by violent movement. The entire arrangement of my picture is expressive.

Notes of a Painter Henri Matisse, 1908

The Dessert: Harmony in Red, Henri Matisse

The Dessert: Harmony in Red Henri Matisse, 1908

Dune 1, Piet Mondrian

Dune 1 Piet Mondrian, 1909

Dune 2, Piet Mondrian

Dune 2 Piet Mondrian, 1909

Dune 3, Piet Mondrian

Dune 3 Piet Mondrian, 1909

Stroll Through the Park, Mikhail Larionov

Stroll Through the Park Mikhail Larionov, 1910

Church Tower in Zeeland, Piet Mondrian

Church Tower in Zeeland Piet Mondrian, 1911

Isaac With A Pipe, Sigrid Hjertén

Isaac With A Pipe Sigrid Hjertén, 1911

Landscape, Marcel Duchamp

Landscape Marcel Duchamp, 1911

The Blue Ship, Sigrid Hjertén

The Blue Ship Sigrid Hjertén, 1912

War Canoe, Alert Bay, Emily Carr

War Canoe, Alert Bay Emily Carr, 1912

War Canoes, Alert Bay, Emily Carr

War Canoes, Alert Bay Emily Carr, 1912

Regatta Day, Anne Estelle Rice

Regatta Day Anne Estelle Rice, 1913

The Forest, Natalia Goncharova

The Forest Natalia Goncharova, 1913

The red fence, Gränna, Sigrid Hjertén

The red fence, Gränna Sigrid Hjertén, 1913

Apples on a Table - Green Background, Henri Matisse

Apples on a Table - Green Background Henri Matisse, 1916

At the square in Cassis, 14th July, Sigrid Hjertén

At the square in Cassis, 14th July Sigrid Hjertén, 1932

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The Daises Henri Matisse, 1939

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Interior with Black Fern Henri Matisse, 1948

Next Movement
Social Realism, Modernism

Social Realism

Realism as a weapon

1900 – 1950

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