Fauvism

Fauvism developed in France to become the first new artistic style of the 20th century. In contrast to the dark, vaguely disturbing nature of much fin-de-sicle, or turn-of-the-century, Symbolist art, the Fauves produced bright cheery landscapes and figure paintings, characterized by pure vivid color and bold distinctive brushwork. When shown at the 1905 Salon dAutomne (an exhibition organized by artists in response to the conservative policies of the official exhibitions, or salons) in Paris, the contrast to traditional art was so striking it led critic Louis Vauxcelles to describe the artists as Les Fauves or wild beasts, and thus the name was born. One of several Expressionist movements to emerge in the early 20th century, Fauvism was short lived, and by 1910, artists in the group had diverged toward more individual interests. Nevertheless, Fauvism remains signficant for it demonstrated modern arts ability to evoke intensely emotional reactions through radical visual form. The best known Fauve artists include Henri Matisse, Andr Derain, and Maurice Vlaminck who pioneered its distinctive style. Their early works reveal the influence of Post-Impressionist artists, especially Neo-Impressionists like Paul Signac, whose interest in colors optical effects had led to a divisionist method of juxtaposing pure hues on canvas. The Fauves, however, lacked such scientific intent. They emphasized the expressive potential of color, employing it arbitrarily, not based on an objects natural appearance.

How Long Was the Movement? First, bear in mind that Fauvism wasn't technically a movement. It had no written guidelines or manifesto, no membership roster, and no exclusive group exhibitions. "Fauvism" is simply a word of periodization we use in place of: "An assortment of painters who were loosely acquainted with one another, and experimented with color in roughly the same way at roughly the same time." That said, Fauvism was exceptionally brief. Starting with Henri Matisse (1869-1954), who worked independently, a few artists began to explore using planes of undiluted color around the turn of the century. Matisse, Maurice de Vlaminck (1876-1958), Andr Derain (1880-1954), Albert Marquet (1875-1947) and Henri Manguin (1875-1949) all exhibited in the Salon d'Automme in 1903 and 1904. No one really paid attention, though, until the Salon of 1905, when all of their works were hung together in the same room. It would be accurate to say that the Fauves' heyday began in 1905, then. They picked up a few temporary devotees including Georges Braque (1882-1963), Othon Friesz (1879-1949) and Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), and were on the public's radar for two more years through 1907. However, the Fauves had already begun to drift in other directions at that point, and they were stone cold done by 1908.

What Are the Key Characteristics of Fauvism?

Color! Nothing took precedence over color for the Fauves. Raw, pure color was not secondary to the composition, it defined the composition. For example, if the artist painted a red sky, the rest of the landscape had to follow suit. To maximize the effect of a red sky, he might choose lime green buildings, yellow water, orange sand, and royal blue boats. He might choose other, equally vivid colors. The one thing you can count on is that none of the Fauves ever went with realistically-colored scenery.

Simplified Forms Perhaps this goes without saying but, because the Fauves eschewed normal painting techniques to delineate shapes, simple forms were a necessity.

Ordinary Subject Matter You may have noticed that the Fauves tended to paint landscapes or scenes of everyday life within landscapes. There is an easy explanation for this: landscapes are not fussy, they beg for large areas of color.

Expressiveness Did you know that Fauvism is a type of Expressionism? Well, it is -- an early type, perhaps even the first type. Expressionism, that pouring forth of the artist's emotions through heightened color and popping forms, is another word for "passion" at its most basic meaning. The Fauves were nothing if not passionate, were they? Influences of Fauvism Post Impressionism was their primary influence, as the Fauves either knew personally or intimately knew the work of the Post-Impressionists. They incorporated the constructive color planes of Paul Czanne (1839-1906), the Symbolism and Cloisonnism of Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), and the pure, bright colors with which Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) will forever remain associated. Additionally, Henri Matisse credited both Georges Seurat (1859-1891) and Paul Signac (1863-1935) for helping him discover his inner Wild Beast. Matisse painted with Signac -- a practitioner of Seurat's Pointillism -- at Saint-Tropez in the summer of 1904. Not only did the light of the French Riviera rock Matisse on his heels, he was bowled over by Signac's technique in that light. Matisse worked feverishly to capture the color possibilities whirling in his head, making study after study and, ultimately, completing Luxe, Calme et Volupte in 1905. The painting was exhibited the following spring at the Salon des Independents, and we hail it now as the first true example of Fauvism. Movements Fauvism Influenced Fauvism had a large impact on other expressionistic movements, including its contemporary Die Brcke and the later Blaue Reiter. More importantly, the bold colorization of the Fauves was a formative influence on countless individual artists going forward: think of Max Beckmann, Oskar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele, George Baselitz, or any of the Abstract Expressionists to name just a few.

Henri Matisse, Luxe, calme et volupt, 1904, oil on canvas, 37 x 46 inches (Muse d'Orsay, Paris)

In Luxe, calm et volupt (1904), for example, Matisse employed a pointillist style by applying paint in small dabs and dashes. Instead of the subtle blending of complimentary colors typical of NeoImpressionism Seurat, for example), the combination of firey oranges, yellows, greens and purple is almost overpowering in its vibrant impact. Similarly, while paintings such as Vlamincks The River Seine at Chantou (1906) appear to mimic the spontaneous, active brushwork of Impressionism, the Fauves adopted a painterly approach to enhance their works emotional power, not to capture fleeting effects of color, light or atmosphere on their subjects. Their preference for landscapes, carefree figures and lighthearted subject matter reflects their desire to create an art that would appeal primarily to the viewers senses.

Maurice de Vlaminck, The River Seine at Chatou, 1906, Oil on canvas, 32 1/2 x 40 1/8 in./ 82.6 x 101.9 cm (THe Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Paintings such as Matisses Bonheur de Vivre (1905-06) epitomize this goal. Bright colors and undulating lines pull our eye gently through the ideallic scene, encouraging us to imagine feeling the warmth of the sun, the cool of the grass, the soft touch of a caress, and the passion of a kiss. Like many modern artists, the Fauves also found inspiration in objects from Africa and other nonwestern cultures. Seen through a Colonialist lens, the formal distinctions of African art reflected current notions of Primitivismthe belief that, lacking the corrupting influence of European civilization, non-western peoples were more in tune with the primal elements of nature.

Henri Matisse, Bonheur de Vivre (Joy of Life), oil on canvas, 1905-06 (Barnes Foundation)

Blue Nude (Souvenir of Biskra) of 1907 shows how Matisse combined his traditional subject of the female nude with the influence of primitive sources. The womans face appears mask-like in the use of strong outlines and harsh contrasts of light and dark, and the hard lines of her body recall the angled planar surfaces common to African sculpture. This distorted effect, further heightened by her contorted pose, clearly distinguishes the figure from the idealized odalisques of Ingres and painters of the past.

Henri Matisse, The Blue Nude (Souvenir de Biskra), oil on canvas, 1907 (Baltimore Museum of Art)

The Fauves interest in Primitivism reinforced their reputation as wild beasts who sought new possibilities for art through their exploration of direct expression, impactful visual forms and instinctual appeal. Text by Dr. Virginia B. Spivey

Fauvism

PAUL GAUGUIN (1884-1903) 'Vision after the Sermon', 1888 (oil on canvas)

Fauvism has its roots in the post-impressionist paintings of Paul Gauguin. It was his use of symbolic color that pushed art towards the style of Fauvism. Gauguin proposed that color had a symbolic vocabulary which could be used to visually translate a range of emotions. In 'Vision after the Sermon' where Gauguin depicts Jacob wrestling with an angel, he paints the background a flat red to emphasise the mood and subject of the sermon: Jacob's spiritual battle fought in a blood red field of combat. Gauguin believed that color had a mystical quality that could express our feelings about a subject rather than simply describe a scene. By breaking the established descriptive role that color had in painting, he inspired the younger artists of his day to experiment with new possibilities for color in art.

'Les Fauves'

HENRI MATISSE (1869-1954) 'The Roofs of Collioure', 1905 (oil on canvas)

At the start of the 20th century, two young artists, Henri Matisse and Andr Derain formed the basis of a group of painters who enjoyed painting pictures with outrageously bold colors. The group were nicknamed 'Les Fauves' which meant 'wild beasts' in French. Their title was coined by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles who was amused by the exaggerated color in their art. At the Salon d'automne of 1905 he entered a gallery where Les Fauves were exhibiting their paintings. Surprised by the contrast with a typical renaissance sculpture that stood in the centre of this room, he exclaimed with irony, "Donatello au mileau des fauves!" (Donatello in the middle of the wild beasts!). The name stuck.

Henri Matisse and Andr Derain

HENRI MATISSE (1869-1954) 'The Open Window, Collioure', 1905 (oil on canvas)

In 1905, Matisse and Derain went to stay in the port of Collioure in the south of France and the Fauvist pictures that they painted there revolutionized attitudes towards color in art. The sheer joy of expression that they achieved through their liberated approach to color was a shot in the arm for the art of painting. In Matisse's painting, 'The Open Window, Collioure', color is used at its maximum intensity. The window frames, clay flower pots and masts on the yachts have all been painted in a blazing red. These are a bold complement to the range of greens that punctuate the painting. In order to arrange the various colors of the work into an effective composition he creates a counterchange between the greenish wall on the left and its reflected color in the right hand window, with the purple wall on the right and its reflected color in the left hand window. To unify the interior/exterior relationship of space, the dense spectrum of colors used inside the room is echoed more sparingly in the distant view through the window.

At first glance, the apparent freedom of his style seems to deny any skill or technique, but when you begin to analyse his effective use of visual elements you start to realize that there is an instinctive sensibility at work. The key to his success in using such exaggerated colors was the realization that he had to simplify his drawing. He understood that if he intensified the quality of color for expressive effect, he must reduce the amount of detail used in drawing the shapes and forms of the image. By applying the same kind of simplification and spontaneity to his drawing and brushwork, Matisse was amplifying the sense of joy that he had achieved through color. He wrote, "We move towards serenity through the simplification of ideas and form.......Details lessen the

purity of lines, they harm the emotional intensity, and we choose to reject them. It is a question of learning - and perhaps relearning the 'handwriting' of lines. The aim of painting is not to reflect history, because this can be found in books. We have a higher conception. Through it, the artist expresses his inner vision."

ANDR DERAIN (1880-1954) 'Portrait of Henri Matisse', 1906 (oil on canvas)

In 1906, after the success of the Salon d'Automne exhibition of the previous year, Andr Derain was commissioned by Ambroise Vollard, the French art dealer, to create a series of paintings about London. The subject had been previously tackled by Whistler and Monet who had focused on the foggy atmosphere of the industrial city. Derain's vision was a radical departure from this traditional view as he painted the capital in a palette more suited to a Mediterranean holiday resort. Altogether he produced thirty paintings in what has become a very popular series depicting many views along the Thames.

ANDR DERAIN (1880-1954) 'The Pool of London', 1906 (oil on canvas)

Derain manages to balance the expressive and descriptive qualities of color in 'The Pool of London'. He uses the conflict between warm and cool colors to express the noise and activity of this busy dockyard. An illusion of depth in the painting is created by using stronger and warmer tones in the foreground, which gradually become weaker and cooler towards the background. This organized arrangement of tones in a landscape is called Aerial Perspective. The drawing of the image is typically simplified into shapes and forms whose details can be conveyed by unmodified brushstrokes of roughly the same size. This gives the painting an overall unity that you would not expect in a composition of such conflicting colors.

Fauvism and Beyond

RAOUL DUFY (1877-1953) 'Henley Regatta', 1933 (gouache)

Henri Matisse and Andr Derain may be the two most important figures associated with the Fauve movement, but other great artists such as Maurice de Vlaminck, Albert Marquet, Georges Rouault, Raoul Dufy and the cubist Georges Braque all contributed their own variations to the style.

ANDR DERAIN (1880-1954) 'The Turning Road at L'Estaque', 1906 (oil on canvas)

Fauvism was not a formal movement with a manifesto of rules and regulations. It was more an instinctive coming together of artists who wished to express themselves by using bold colors, simplified drawing and expressive brushwork. 'Les Fauves' simply believed that color had a spiritual quality which linked directly to your emotions and they loved to use it at the highest possible pitch. Within a few years, Fauvist techniques were adopted and developed by the German Expressionists and their various splinter groups. Fauvism was gradually subsumed into the canon of modern art, but its influence liberated the use of color for future generations of artists, who ultimately explored color as an abstract subject in its own right.

Fauvism Notes

HENRI MATISSE (1869-1954) 'Green Stripe - Madame Matisse', 1905 (oil on canvas)

Fauvism was a style of painting developed in France at the beginning of the 20th century by Henri Matisse and Andr Derain.

The artists who painted in this style were known as 'Les Fauves'. The title 'Les Fauves' (the wild beasts) came from a sarcastic remark by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles. Les Fauves believed that color should be used to express the artist's feelings about a subject, rather than simply to describe what it looks like.

Fauvist paintings have two main characteristics: simplified drawing and exaggerated color. Les Fauves were a great influence on German Expressionism.