Fauvism
Colourist Fauvist Style of Painting by 'Les Fauves'.
Visual Arts Guide

Harmony in Red (The Dinner Table)
(1908) by Henri Matisse.

Fauvist Art Movement (1898-1908)

In fine art, the term Fauvist denotes a short-lived colourist movement which formed around friendships between French artists around the turn of the century. The name 'Fauves' was coined at the 1905 Salon d'Automne exhibition in Paris, by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles who insultingly described the vividly coloured paintings as being the work of wild beasts (fauves), and the name stuck. An outgrowth of the French Impressionism movement, Fauvism can be considered a mix of Seurat's Divisionism and Van Gogh's strident expressionism. It was also influenced by the palettes and works of other Post-Impressionists, including Cezanne and Paul Gauguin.

Luxe, Calme Et Volupté (1904-5)
which echoes the Pointillism of
Georges Seurat.

The main members and most famous artists of the Fauvist school were Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and Andre Derain (1880-1954), who had studied together in 1897, as well as Maurice de Vlaminck (1876-1958) a friend of Derain. Other members included the later Cubist Georges Braque (1882-1963), Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), Albert Marquet (1875-1947) and Georges Rouault (1871-1958). A favourite place of congregation was Collioure in the South of France.

At the root of Fauvist philosophy was Derain's notion of 'colour for colour's sake'. The style can be traced back to Pointillism and Post-Impressionism, but it moved away from the harmony of the latter towards a bolder, more primitive form of expression. Thus the dotted motif was replaced with freely applied wide chunky brushstrokes of pure colour, and compositions were relatively simply, sometimes abstract.

Landscape with Red Trees (1906)
by Maurice de Vlaminck.

The prominence in France of Cezanne, combined with the advent of Cubism in the late 1900s, denied Fauvism its position as the most radical trend in fine art painting in Paris. Despite this the Fauvist style influenced a number of visiting artists from Poland and Russia, and was a significant influence on some of the Expressionists. By 1907, many Fauvists had moved on to explore other styles, although Henri Matisse remained fascinated by colour for the remainder of his life, producing his immortal series of Blue Nudes shortly before he died. As the foremost modern colourist in modern art, he continues to be the leading icon in the world of colour for many twentieth century artists.

The Harbour of Collioure (1905)
by Andre Derain.

Famous Fauvist-style Paintings

By Henri Matisse: Harmony in Red (The Dinner Table) (1908), Hermitage Gallery, St Petersburg; Portrait of Mme Matisse (1912-13), Hermitage Gallery, St Petersburg; Luxe, Calme et Volupte (1904), Musee d'Orsay; and Blue Nude IV (1952), Musee matisse, Nice-Cimiez. By Andre Derain: The Harbour of Collioure (1905), Private Collection; and Charing Cross Bridge (1906), National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. By Maurice de Vlaminck: Tugboat at Chatou (1906) Private Collection.

The Scottish Colourists

The vivid palette of French Fauvist style art was introduced to Britain by a group of four Scottish artists, JD Fergusson, Cadell, Hunter, and Samuel John Peploe. Fergusson himself visited Paris regularly from the 1890s on, living there from 1907-14. Examples of Scottish fauvism include: Café-Concert des Ambassadeurs (1907) by JD Fergusson, and Tulips (1923) by Samuel John Peploe.

• For other art movements and periods, see: History of Art.
• For styles of painting and sculpture in Ireland, see: Irish Art

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