LES FAUVES

   Les Fauves was a short-lived and loose group of early 20th century medern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong color over the representational or realistic values retainde by impressionism. Fauvism is the style of Les Fauves. Fauvism the first of the major avant-garde movements in European was characterized by paintings that used intensively vivid, non-naturalistic and exuberand colors. The style was essentially expressionist, and generally featured landscapes in which forms were distorted. The Fauvests first exhibited together in 1905 in Paris.They found their name whwn a critic pointed to a renaissence-like sculpture in the middle of the same gallery as the exhibition and exclaimed derisively 'Donatello au milleu des fauves!' (Donatello among the wild beasts). The name caught on, and was gleefully accepted by the artists themselves.

PORTRAIT OF MADAME MATISSE by HENRI MATISSE

   The movement was subjected to more mockery and abuse as it developed, but began to gain respect when major art buyers. Although short-lived (1905-1908) Fauvism was extremely influential in the evolution of 20th century art.

   Representative artists : Andre Derain, Roul Dufy, Henri Matisse, Maurice de Vlaminck.

   ANDRE DERAİN

   Andre Derain founder of the Fauvism movement painted his first landscapes during the time of meeting Henri Matisse and Maurice de Vlaminck. Derain and Matisse worked together through the summer of 1905 and later that year displayed their highly innovative paintings at the Salon d'Automne. The vivid unnatural colors led the critic Louis Vauxcelles to derisively dub their work as "les fauves" or "the wild beasts" marking the start of the Fauvist movement.

CHARING CROSS BRIDGE by ANDRE DERAIN