Fauvism
Fauvism got both its start and its name at a 1905 exhibition held at the Paris Salon d'Automne where it was heralded as a 'new style' under the unofficial leader of the group, Henri Matisse who was to become the most enduring Fauvist. The works of Fauvist artists, marked by audacious transpositions, forceful brushstrokes and the emotional use of color was inspired by Impressionism and the works of Van Gogh and Signac.
Like other modernists such as Pablo Picasso, they sought to break with traditional representations in art. Rather than merely challenge the viewer, however, their vigorous vision which included discordant color groupings and bold shapes were meant to please and instill a sense of well being.
Although the group was short-lived, Fauvists were among the first of 20th century artists to be inspired by non-Western art such as Japanese prints, Near Eastern textiles, pottery and paintings. Maurice de Vlaminck, considered one of the boldest of the Fauvists, was quoted as saying, that Fauvism "was not an invention, an attitude, but a manner of being, of acting, of thinking, of breathing." [1]
Les Fauves
After their first exhibition in 1905, the art critic, Louis Vauxcelles coined the term the Fauves (French for "wild beasts") - an initially perjorative term, for the loose assemblage of artists gathered under the leadership of Matisse. Although the group did not strictly adhere to a set of principles, they were joined together by friendship and a shared philosophical view of their art. Both Matisse and Derain had studied under Gustave Moreau, who was a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and a Symbolist painter. He pushed his students to think outside the lines of formal art and to follow their vision.
Andre Derain, who was to paint Fauvist views of London's city vistas (Charing Cross Bridge, London 1905) said of their new found style:
Fauvism was our ordeal by fire...Those were the years of photography. This may have influenced us, and played a part in our reaction against anything resembling a snapshot of life...Colors became charges of dynamite. They were expected to discharge light....with our flat tones we even preserved a concern for mass, giving for example to a spot of sand a heaviness it did not possess, so as to bring out the fluidity of the water, the lightness of the sky...The great merit of this method was to free the picture from all imitative and conventional contact." [2]
Style and themes
Fauvism is characterized by a "violence of colors" often applied unmixed from commercially produced tubes of paint and applied in broad flat areas. [3] The Fauves favored the juxtaposition of complementary hues such as rose with pale green (see The Beach at Sainte-Adresse, Raoul Dufy 1906) Also in favor were jewel-like and opulent colors such as turquoise, mauve, and heavy blue. In the Matisse painting Open Window, Collioure (1905) one sees the Collioure fishing boats with their vermilion masts floating on pink and pale blue water. While some areas followed the natural color of objects, others could be completely artificial but brilliantly emotive.
Matisse's 1909 La Danse and Derain's The Two Barges,[1] use powerful blues, oranges, reds and other forceful colors in order to capture the attention of the viewer.
The Fauvists were notably festive and incorporated brightly striped flags, sail boats, and beach scenes. Holidays, were a favorite theme of 20th century artists and the Fauvists were no exception. Whereas earlier genres of art had portrayed ordinary people in day to day activities the Fauvists sought out colorful locales. Fauvists were attracted to bold patterns and intense colors such as those found typically on a boardwalk by the seashore (See The Beach at Trouville Albert Marquet 1906).
London cityscapes inspired by earlier works of Monet also were popular as were the views afforded by resort towns such as Saint Tropez and Sainte-Adresse.
Influences
Many artists passed through a "Fauvist" phase but could not strictly be categorized by the Fauvist label such as...... Roul........ was the longest in this period next to Matisse.
Their disciples included Albert Marquet, Charles Camoin, the Belgian painter Henri Evenepoel, Jean Puy, Maurice de Vlaminck, Raoul Dufy, Othon Friesz, Georges Rouault, the Dutch painter Kees van Dongen, the Swiss painter Alice Bailly and Picasso's partner in Cubism, Georges Braque.
Fauvism, as a movement, had no concrete theories, and was short lived, beginning in 1905 and ending in 1907, they only had three exhibitions. Matisse, the most enduring Fauvist has said that he that he wanted to create art to delight.
Legacy
Like other new forms of avant-garde art at the beginning of the 20th century, Fauvism was initially reacted to with criticism and alarm. However, as the first in a series of new art movements Fauvism was to have an tremendous affect on the rise of Expressionism, Orphism and the development of Abstract art.
Modern day French painter Emile Bellet has said that he bases his techniques on the work of the Fauvist artists.
Henri Manguin, Kees Van Dongen and Charles Camoin.
Fauve paintings
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Rewald, John. The John Hay Whitney Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington. ISBN 0894680668
- Tansey, Richard G. and Fred S. Kleiner,Gardner's Art Through the Ages Harcourt Brace, 1996. ISBN 0155011413
- Turner, Jane, ed. The Dictionary of Art, Oxford University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-19-517068-7
Further reading
- William H. Gerdts (1995). The Color of Modernism: The American Fauves. New York: Hollis Taggart Galleries.
- Sarah Whitfield (1991). Fauvism. London: Thames And Hudson.
External links
- Fauve Painting from the Permanent Collection at the National Gallery of Art
- Fauvism: The Wild Beasts of Early Twentieth Century Art
- Fauvism
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- ↑ Rewald, John. The John Hay Whitney Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington.
- ↑ Rewald, John. The John Hay Whitney Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington.
- ↑ Turner, Jane, ed. The Dictionary of Art, Oxford University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-19-517068-7
