The beginning of the 20th century was marked by the appearance in painting of a new artistic movement - Fauvism. The first works in this style appeared in the last years of the XIX century. The name of the direction comes from the French word "fauve", which means "wild animal". But a more established version of the translation was the word “wild,” which is associated with representatives of this movement. For the first time such a characteristic was used by the famous critic Louis Voxel regarding the works of several young artists whose paintings were presented in 1905 at the Autumn Salon.
In addition to paintings in the cabin was a statue made in the style of the Italian Renaissance. Seeing her surrounded by unusual works, the critic said that the figure resembles Donatello among wild animals. So it happened that representatives of a new direction began to be called Fauvists.
Fauvism in painting
The creations of innovators made a splash among the visitors of the Salon, because they radically differed from existing styles. An extraordinary approach to art and a special view of the world excited society: against the background of Fauvism, even impressionism began to seem rational and more familiar, traditional.
Fauvism in painting was different from other movements: artists working in this direction were not united by some common aesthetic program. Their canvases are, rather, a way to affirm their subjective vision of the world using the simplest shapes and forms for this. The deliberate acuteness of compositional solutions, the denial of linear perspective, the primitivization of the depicted - all this brought together artists such as Henri Matisse, Maurice Marino, Andre Derain, Georges Braque, Georges Rouault, Oton Frieze, Albert Marche and others.
Representatives of Fauvism in painting, although they adhered to similar principles in their work, were distinguished by their worldview. Andre Derain was more rational; Henri Matisse - dreamy; Georges Rouault expressed images with special tragedy and grotesque. Such contrasting differences caused the Fauvists to be united among themselves for a short time (the union broke up in 1908). Then their paths diverged, and each of the artists found himself in more similar styles and perceptions, changing his working methods and creative principles.
Features of the new trend
The activities of the Fauvists, despite the short period of existence of the united group of its representatives, had a significant impact on the development of European painting. Mixing the most significant achievements of that time, borrowing certain techniques from different styles made this direction special and well recognizable. Fauvism in painting became a kind of crucible that mixed the techniques of Japanese color engraving, the methods of post-impressionists and even medieval artists. The Fauvists' goal was to maximize the use of color, which was the litmus paper of the creator's mood. Most often, preference was given to bright tones, which in contrast played with natural colors, emphasizing and sharpening them. Thanks to this approach, the paintings were distinguished by tension and extraordinary expression.
Matisse and his vision of painting
For some artists who decided to embody a mixture of different styles in their work, the goal was Fauvism in painting. Matisse - one of the most prominent representatives of this trend, was not only its founder, but also a person who made a significant contribution to the development of the direction.
In particular, he was the first to resort to seemingly shocking methods: for example, Matisse considered it appropriate to portray a woman with a green nose, if this gave the picture extravagance and piquancy. He claimed that he was not depicting a woman, but a picture, so the color scheme may be what the artist wants her to see. Inspired by the works of prominent impressionists (in particular, Van Gogh and Gauguin), Matisse created vivid, rich works in rich colors.
The original technique of the artist is especially clearly visible in the paintings “View of Collioure”, “Lady in the Hat”.
In them, he sought to emphasize the fundamental principles of the new trend, namely, to express the feelings evoked by what he saw, but not tied to the color scheme of the environment, but embodied on the canvas in those shades that are similar in spirit to the creator. This was Matisse's view of Fauvism in painting. The paintings of the famous avant-garde artist have been criticized more than once, one of them - “Blue Naked” - was even burned at the 1913 International Exhibition of Contemporary Art, held in Chicago.
The influence of Fauvism on European painting
Fauvism in the painting of European artists played a huge role in the further development of fine art, giving rise to expression on canvas in the original manner of the artist’s feelings, their vision of the world. Humanity has once again expanded its horizons due to the innovation of the Fauvists.