Fauvism (/foʊvɪzəm/FOH-viz-əm) is a style of painting and anart movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style ofles Fauves (French pronunciation:[lefov],the wild beasts), a group ofmodern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over therepresentational orrealistic values retained byImpressionism. While Fauvism as a style began around 1904 and continued beyond 1910, the movement as such lasted only a few years, 1905–1908, and had three exhibitions.[1][2] The leaders of the movement wereAndré Derain andHenri Matisse.
The paintings of the Fauves were characterized by seemingly wild brush work and strident colors, while their subject matter had a high degree of simplification andabstraction.[3] Fauvism can be classified as an extreme development ofVan Gogh'sPost-Impressionism fused with thepointillism ofSeurat[3] and otherNeo-Impressionist painters, in particularPaul Signac. Other key influences werePaul Cézanne[4] andPaul Gauguin, whose employment of areas of saturated color—notably in paintings from Tahiti—strongly influenced Derain's work atCollioure in 1905.[5] In 1888, Gauguin had said toPaul Sérusier:[6]"How do you see these trees? They are yellow. So, put in yellow; this shadow, rather blue, paint it with pureultramarine; these red leaves? Put invermilion."Fauvism has been compared toExpressionism, both in its use of pure color and unconstrained brushwork.[3] Some of the Fauves were among the first avant-garde artists to collect and study African and Oceanic art, alongside other forms of non-Western and folk art, leading several Fauves toward the development ofCubism.[7]
Gustave Moreau was the movement's inspirational teacher;[8] a controversial professor at theÉcole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and aSymbolist painter, he taught Matisse, Marquet, Manguin, Rouault, and Camoin during the 1890s, and was viewed by critics as the group's philosophical leader until Matisse was recognized as such in 1904.[8] Moreau's broad-mindedness, originality and affirmation of the expressive potency of pure color was inspirational for his students.[9] Matisse said of him, "He did not set us on the right roads, but off the roads. He disturbed our complacency."[9] This source of empathy was taken away with Moreau's death in 1898, but the artists discovered other catalysts for their development.[9]
In 1896, Matisse, then an unknown art student, visited the artistJohn Russell on the island ofBelle Île off the coast ofBrittany.[10] Russell was anImpressionist painter; Matisse had never previously seen an Impressionist work directly, and was so shocked at the style that he left after ten days, saying, "I couldn't stand it any more."[10] The next year he returned as Russell's student and abandoned his earth-colored palette for bright Impressionist colors, later stating, "Russell was my teacher, and Russell explained color theory to me."[10] Russell had been a close friend ofVincent van Gogh and gave Matisse a Van Gogh drawing.[10]
In 1901,Maurice de Vlaminck encountered the work of Van Gogh for the first time at an exhibition, declaring soon after that he loved Van Gogh more than his own father; he started to work by squeezing paint directly onto the canvas from the tube.[9] In parallel with the artists' discovery of contemporary avant-garde art came an appreciation of pre-Renaissance French art, which was shown in a 1904 exhibition,French Primitives.[9] Another aesthetic influence was African sculpture, of whichVlaminck,Derain and Matisse were early collectors.[9]
Henri Rousseau was not a Fauve, but his large jungle sceneThe Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope was exhibited near Matisse's work and may have had an influence on the pejorative used.[15] Vauxcelles' comment was printed on 17 October 1905 inGil Blas,[13] a daily newspaper, and passed into popular usage.[14][16] The pictures gained considerable condemnation—"A pot of paint has been flung in the face of the public", wrote the criticCamille Mauclair (1872–1945)—but also some favorable attention.[14] The painting that was singled out for attacks was Matisse'sWoman with a Hat; this work's purchase byGertrude andLeo Stein had a very positive effect on Matisse, who was suffering demoralization from the bad reception of his work.[14] Matisse's Neo-Impressionist landscape,Luxe, Calme et Volupté, had already been exhibited at theSalon des Indépendants in the spring of 1905.[17]
Following the Salon d'Automne of 1905, which marked the beginning of Fauvism, the Salon des Indépendants of 1906 marked the first time all the Fauves would exhibit together. The centerpiece of the exhibition was Matisse's monumentalLe Bonheur de Vivre (The Joy of Life).[18] Critics were horrified by its flatness, bright colors, eclectic style and mixed technique.[18] The triangular composition is closely related toPaul Cézanne'sBathers, a series that would soon become a source of inspiration for Picasso'sLes Demoiselles d'Avignon.[19][20]
The elected members of the hanging committee included Matisse, Signac and Metzinger.[21][22]
Robert Delaunay, 1906,L'homme à la tulipe (Portrait de Jean Metzinger), oil on canvas, 72.4 x 48.5 cm. Exhibited at the 1906 Salon d'Autome (Paris) along with a portrait of Delaunay by Jean Metzinger
The third group exhibition of the Fauves occurred at the Salon d'Automne of 1906, held from 6 October to 15 November. Metzinger exhibited his Fauvist/DivisionistPortrait of M. Robert Delaunay (no. 1191) andRobert Delaunay exhibited his paintingL'homme à la tulipe (Portrait of M. Jean Metzinger) (no. 420 of the catalogue).[23] Matisse exhibited hisLiseuse, two still lifes (Tapis rouge andà la statuette), flowers and a landscape (no. 1171–1175).[18][23]Robert Antoine Pinchon showed hisPrairies inondées (Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, près de Rouen) (no. 1367), now at theMusée de Louviers,[23] painted in Fauvist style, with golden yellows, incandescent blues, thick impasto and larger brushstrokes.[24]
Paul Cézanne, who died during the show on 22 October, was represented by ten works. His works includedMaison dans les arbres (no. 323),Portrait de Femme (no. 235) andLe Chemin tournant (no. 326). Van Dongen showed three works,Montmartre (492),Mademoiselle Léda (493) andParisienne (494).André Derain exhibited 8 works,Westminster-Londres (438),Arbres dans un chemin creux (444) along with 5 works painted atl'Estaque.[23][18] Camoin entered 5 works, Dufy 7, Friesz 4, Manguin 6, Marquet 8, Puy 10, Valtat 10, and Vlaminck was represented by 7 works.[23][18]
Georges Braque, 1906,L'Olivier près de l'Estaque (The Olive tree near l'Estaque). At least four versions of this scene were painted by Braque, one of which was stolen from theMusée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris during the month of May 2010.[25]
André Derain,La jetée à L'Estaque, 1906, oil on canvas, 38 × 46 cm
^Teitel, Alexandra J. (2005). "History: How did the Fauves come to be?". "Fauvism: Expression, Perception, and the Use of Color",Brown University. Retrieved on 2009-06-28,Brown coursesArchived 2010-11-16 at theWayback Machine
^Collins, Bradley,Van Gogh and Gauguin: Electric Arguments and Utopian Dreams, 2003, Westview Press, p. 159,ISBN0-8133-4157-4.
^Joshua I. Cohen, "Fauve Masks: Rethinking Modern 'Primitivist' Uses of African and Oceanic Art, 1905-8." The Art Bulletin 99, no. 2 (June 2017): 136-65.
^abcdChilver, Ian (Ed.)."Fauvism"Archived 2011-11-09 at theWayback Machine, The Oxford Dictionary of Art, Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved from enotes.com, 26 December 2007.
^Salon d’automne; Société du Salon d’automne, Catalogue des ouvrages de peinture, sculpture, dessin, gravure, architecture et art décoratif. Exposés au Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées, 1905
^Daniel Robbins,Jean Metzinger: At the Center of Cubism, 1985, Jean Metzinger in Retrospect, The University of Iowa Museum of Art, J. Paul Getty Trust, University of Washington Press, pp. 9-23
^abcdeSalon d'automne; Société du Salon d'automne, Catalogue des ouvrages de peinture, sculpture, dessin, gravure, architecture et art décoratif. Exposés au Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées, 1906
^François Lespinasse,Robert Antoine Pinchon: 1886–1943, 1990, repr. Rouen: Association Les Amis de l'École de Rouen, 2007,ISBN9782906130036(in French)
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