FAUVISM

·       Fauvism is the name applied to the work produced by a group of artists (which included Henri Matisse and André Derain) from around 1905 to 1910, which is characterized by strong colors and fierce brushwork

·       Fauve artists used pure, brilliant color aggressively applied straight from the paint tubes to create a sense of an explosion on the canvas.

·       The name les fauves (‘the wild beasts’) was coined by the critic Louis Vauxcelles when he saw the work of Henri Matisse and André Derain in an exhibition, the salon d’automne in Paris, in 1905.

·       The Fauves painted directly from nature, as the Impressionists had before them, but Fauvist works were invested with a strong expressive reaction to the subjects portrayed.

·       First formally exhibited in Paris in 1905, Fauvist paintings shocked visitors to the annual Salon d’Automne; one of these visitors was the critic Louis Vauxcelles, who, because of the violence of their works, dubbed the painters fauves (“wild beasts”).

·       The paintings Derain and Matisse exhibited were the result of a summer spent working together in Collioure in the South of France and were made using bold, non-naturalistic colors (often applied directly from the tube), and wild loose dabs of paint. The forms of the subjects were also simplified making their work appear quite abstract.

Other like-minded artists associated with fauvism included:

•        Georges Braque

•        Raoul Dufy

•        Georges Rouault

•        Maurice de Vlamickn

FAUVISM AND COLOUR THEORY

The fauvists were interested in the scientific color theories developed in the nineteenth century – particularly those relating to complementary colors. Complementary colors are pairs of colors appear opposite each other on scientific models such as the color wheel, and when used side-by-side in a painting make each other look brighter.

WHAT INSPIRED FAUVISM? (AND WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?)

·       Fauvism can be seen as an extreme extension of the post- impressionism of Vincent Van Gogh combined with the neo-impressionism of Georges Seurat.

·       The influences of these earlier movements inspired Matisse and his followers to reject traditional three-dimensional space and instead use flat areas or patches of color to create a new pictorial space.

·       Fauvism can also be seen as a form of expressionism in its use of brilliant colors and spontaneous brushwork. It has often been compared to German expressionism, which emerged at around the same time and was also inspired by the developments of post-impressionism.

·       Although one of the first avant-garde modernist movements of the twentieth century and one of the first styles to make a move towards abstraction, for many of the artists who adopted a fauvist approach it became a transitional stepping stone for future developments in their style. By 1908 most of the main artists in the group had moved away from the expressive emotionalism of fauvism.

·       A renewed interest in post-impressionist artist Paul Cézanne and the analytical approach he took to painting landscapes, people and objects inspired many artists to embrace order and structure instead.

·       A renewed interest in post-impressionist artist Paul Cézanne and the analytical approach he took to painting landscapes, people and objects inspired many artists to embrace order and structure instead.

Defining Characteristics

•        COLOR: unnatural colors that express emotion, rather than imitate reality•

•        SIMPLICITY: no details. Mostly geometric shapes (but not to the point of Cubism).

•        EXPRESSIVENESS: this was the beginning of expressionism! Emotions are conveyed through the use of color!

•        EVERYDAY SUBJECTS: often landscapes, but also portraits and the occasional still life. Things that you would see every day, but in an obscure way.

THE RED STUDIO

•        Dismantling spatial illusion

•        RED: Red is often thought of as the most aggressive color.

•        ILLUSIONISM: This triumph of illusion is due in part to the linear perspective that defines the table, chairs, and the walls and floor of the studio.

•        Figure-ground relationship

·       RESONANCE AND DEPTHS OF HENRI MATISSE’S PAPER CUTOUTS

Matisse started experimenting with a new technique in which he cut and glued sheets of paper primed with gouache. The enormous potential of this approach became apparent to him, for it was neither drawing or painting, but a combination of two.

“Instead of drawing an outline and filling with color.      I am drawing directly into color”

Perhaps his lifelong dream of reconciling drawing and color could be achieved. But if the cutouts represent a new departure, He remained faithful to the artistic principles of his youth. Its corollary in the form of a deep distrust theory, it was the idea of faithfulness to his senses.

·       After 1948 Matisse was prevented from painting by ill health but, although confined to bed, he produced a number of works known as gouaches découpées. These were made by cutting or tearing shapes from paper which had been painted with gouache. The shapes were placed and pasted down by an assistant working under Matisse's instruction.

·       Some of the later ones, such as The Snail, were of very large dimensions. The technique, explored in his picture book Jazz (published 1947) and other works, opened up new possibilities for him. Matisse said of the technique that it 'allows me to draw in the color. It is a simplification for me. Instead of drawing the outline and putting the color inside it - the one modifying the other - I draw straight into the color (quoted in Amis de l'art, October 1951).

·       CHAPEL OF THE ROSARY IN VENCE

Matisse’s design for the interior of the chapel is based on the concept of light as the bearer of infinite space, as a place of spirituality and as dualism:

"In the Chapel, my chief aim was to balance a surface of light and color against a solid wall with black drawing on a white background” is how he described his objective."

MATISSE DOCUMENTARY

·       Henri Matisse – He said, “From the moment I held the box of colors in my hand, I knew this was my life. Like an animal plunges headlong towards what it loves. I dive right in.”

“Color was not given to us in order that we should imitate nature. It was given to us so we could express our own imagination.”

·       1906 - The year did the super- wealthy Moscow industrialist started buying Matisse’s artwork in bulk

·       Pierre, The Piano Lesson - In his 1916 painting, Matisse’s son appeared in his work being forced to practice the piano, what was the name of Matisse’s son and the title of the painting?

·       SERGEI SHCHUKIN - He was the rich patron of Henri Matisse

·       Fauvism - An art movement pioneered by Henri Matisse, meaning “wild beast”

·       Bohain - The town where Matisse grew up.

·       THE CHAPEL OF THE HOLY ROSARY IN VENCE - The final masterpiece of Henri Matisse-a crowning achievement of his career.

·       THE RED STUDIO - An autobiographical work Henri Matisse painted in 1911, where perspective have been removed and destroyed.

·       60/1930 - At what age and year did Matisse’s first trip to New York happened?

·       Odalisque - The tradition of painting semi naked women as explored by Henri Matisse.

·       The Moroccan Café - The title of the painting of the two faceless men watching 2 goldfishes by a flower

·       USA/America - The country that brought so much creative intensity to Henri Matisse

·       Villa Le Reve - Matisse moved in this house in 1943 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer.

·       The Paper Cut Out - What was Matisse’s most shocking and radical innovation in art.

·       Jazz - is a limited edition of Matisse’s book containing prints of colorful cut paper collages, accompanied by the Matisse’s written thoughts.

·       The Snail - The title of Matisse’s work, which he created at the age of 83, where it was described as an audacious leap of his career.

·       Sister Jacques-Marie - she was the nurse of Henri Matisse who later became a Dominican nun.

·       Seed merchants - The occupation of Henri Matisse’s family

·       Old age - The eruption of the first world war halted Matisse’s travel, he enlisted in the French army but was rejected for what reason?

·       Albert C. Barnes - American multimillionaire who invited Matisse to create a mural

·       for his newly opened museum

·       The Dancing Nudes/The Dance II - What was the title of the mural by which after it was installed, it was hidden from public view

·       Lydia Delectorskaya - She was the most important woman of Matisse’s life for the rest of his life, her arrival ultimately brought an end to Matisse’s 42 years of marriage to Amelie