FAUVISM (fow-vi-zm)

Derain

Matisse

Fauvism was a 20th century art movement pioneered by French artists like Henri Matisse and Andre Derain.  This art form used bold colors and brushstrokes to project mood and establish structure.  The Fauves ( French for wild beasts) were a group of French painters with the same interests.

Like yesterday's boho art, fauvism valued individual expression.  The artist's personal direct experience of his subjects, his emotional response to nature, and his intuition were all more important than academic theory. 

Born into a family of weavers, Henri Matisse was influenced by the bright colors and patterns of local textiles.  His primal feeling for color, the basis of fauvism, was brought to life when, as a young man he returned home to recover from appendicitis, his mother gave him a box of paints.  He later said, "From the moment I held the box of colors in my hands, I knew this was my life.  I threw myself into it like a beast that plunges toward the thing it loves."    

Woman in a Purple Coat - 1937
Henri Matisse

The Woman in a Purple Coat is a painting that depicts his assistant and late-life companion, Lydia Delectorskaya, in a purple coat.  The thick black outline around the woman makes her the main focal point.  Her serene expression and graceful pose brings out a sense of tranquility and mysterious charm.

Madame Matisse in Kimono - 1905
Andre Derain

Derain painted Madame Matisse in August of 1905, during the famous summer he spent with Matisse in Collioure, France.  Matisse and Derain spent the summer in a painting frenzy that would change the course of modern art. Their use of brilliant and exaggerated colors challenged and even outraged art commentators.  That's how they earned the label "the wild beasts."  

Derain painted Amelie Matisse in the elegant, patterned Japanese kimono which she often wore and in which she was painted by her husband, as well as several of his other artist friends.  Derain presents her wrapped in draping folds of the kimono, with swirling blue lines, resembling vines and leaves, on a background of white.  Amelie holds a red fan and sits with one elbow resting on a table for support.  The background of reds and greens accentuate the presence of Amelie Matisse.

Just had a thought.  Aren't we lucky to have ways we can create our own art with jigsaw puzzles, paint-by-number kits, and the modern adult coloring books that offer intricate and stunning pictures?  If one has a favorite artist, chances are pretty good there's a puzzle that one could put together, frame and hang on the wall. Like all else, there are countless ways for us to be creative and keep our minds focused on the things that give us a sense of accomplishment.