Houses at the waterfront: André Derain-1910

About the picture:

That´s where it gets interesting, because, there’s nothing special about this
picture that is said on the museum file, or when searched anything about it,
there isn’t a story behind it or something like that.

What I found was this:

Artist: André Derain

Style: Fauvism

Topic: Buildings

Date: 1910

Museum: The State Hermitage Museum (Russia)

Technique: Oil On Canvas

Now it’s so, bland, that it’s interesting, like it’s not very well known, but important
enough because of who painted, like he just did it because he had to, it was his
job. It’s weird, a complete paradox, because if it was someone else, who didn’t
get famous, no one would know about it, I didn’t know about it, and probably the
common person didn’t know too.

It’s just one of many landscape paintings that he did, together with still lifes and
portraits that represent Derain.

And made myself ask “Why did I choose it”, simply contrast with today’s
landscapes. The fact the I didn’t find nothing special about, it’s what is making it
special about it, the lack of importance that it receives is interesting, at the time
it was unimportant, but now, it makes sense, now it has a meaning, makes me
try to look back at the older times, when everything was simpler.
 About the author:

About Derain there’s a lot more to talk about, thank God.

Born in 1880 and died in 1954. André Derain started painting at 15 years old,
and after seeing a Van Gogh exposition, started using more pure colors in his
paintings. Also made a studio in Chatou, France, in which he spread the use of
Fauvism, which is the style of this painting. But his works which utilized of this
technique were smoother, because he used hotter and harmonic tones. But he
changed to cubism later, “How” you may ask, he signed a contract with
Picasso’s marchand Kahnweiler, and met with the cubist elite and abandoned
fauvism.

When you search about him, this painting is not one of the main works he did,
he has a sizeable career and that’s probably why “Houses at the waterfront” it’s
just one painting, nothing more, but as I said before, it’s different today, it’s
something else.

Personal answer:
1. Explain why you chose this item / piece. What was the feeling that is caused
you? I chose it because it’s different from the landscapes of today, it’s nothing
alike today, there were more trees, the houses were simpler, and you don’t see
a car on the street there, in real life today, you see a 100 people everywhere
you go, you see cars, trucks, bikes. Those were different times for sure, that’s
why I chose this painting.

2. Do you want to know the chosen piece personally now that you know more
about it?

A little bit, because of pandemic right now, and it wouldn’t be right. But when it
ends I hope to have a chance of going to see it personally.

3. For you, what is the importance of museums and of preserving old pieces?

Of remembering our past, what made us get here, where we are today, to see
the evolution of society as whole, and to see how different were our lives, they
weren’t always like this, of course there were other pandemics before, but it’s
still not the same, not even close to those older ones. I think the only thing close
is the death and infected rate unfortunately, because it shouldn’t be that way.