An explanation of the Fauvist school of fine art, the pioneers and characteristics of the Fauvist movement

The emergence of the Fauvist movement:

The Fauvist movement began in France in 1905. Its subjects include landscapes, religious subjects and still lifes. Instead of painting subjects realistically, they painted their subjects using large amounts of color and in unconventional ways. They tried to make the subject “feel” more than “see,” resulting in paintings that were intensely moving and sometimes shocking to viewers. The movement would continue until the start of the First World War. Fauvism was recognized for its use of unconventional, vibrant and "bold" colors, combined with brushwork that created a graphic effect.

The Fauvism movement occurred in France and lasted from 1905 to 1913. The Fauves were a group of contemporary artists who used bright, nude colors to express themselves. The group members were disillusioned with traditional art forms and wanted to try a different way of creating exciting and emotional works of art. In 1905, Matisse exhibited his painting Woman with a Hat at the Salon d'Automne. This raises a storm of indignation and horror among critics who see it as a barbaric distortion of reality. He became interested in African art because of its bright colors and simple shapes. He discovered at an art school in Paris that a group of artists were already painting with bright colors and thick black lines. These painters had already discovered what Matisse would later call “simplification”. When Matisse began using these techniques, he attracted others to experiment with them, including André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck, and Raoul Dufy. Fauvism is an artistic style that uses vivid, flat forms, with little emphasis on realistic forms. Colors are also often exaggerated, while the subject matter tends to focus on primitive man and beast, or exotic scenes from distant lands.

Pioneers of the Fauvist school:

A style of drawing that favors strong colors over the figurative or naturalistic representation of the subject. Fauvism was an influential art movement in Paris in the early 20th century whose members included Henri Matisse, Georges Rouault, Albert Marquet, Kees van Dongen and André Derain. They are named after a critic who called their work "fauve" (meaning wild beasts).

The word is French, derived from the words fauve (meaning “wild beast”) and instinct. This is exactly why the post-impressionist art movement of the early 20th century was called Fauvism. These artists, Henri Matisse, André Derain, and Maurice de Vlaminck in France, painted bold splashes of bright, artificial colors throughout their works to reflect their wild and unruly emotions. Their inspiration came from African masks and the bright colors of flowers like madder, dahlias and poppies.

Fauvist School Features:

Fauvism was one of the most influential modern art movements of the first half of the 20th century and, simply put, it is about pure color. The aim of the movement was to express emotions through pure color and abstraction. This ambitious approach to painting was quickly adopted by artists across Europe and was never defined as a movement. Instead, it is often seen as a thought process that transcends time periods.

Fauvism is a type of art that uses colors to express emotion and creativity. It uses spontaneous methods of operation, emphasizes artistic sensitivity rather than deliberate use of the craftsman's skills, and attempts to achieve an ideal by imposing specific formal structural principles on the creative process.

Impressionism and its influence on Fauvist :

Impressionism is a style of painting characterized by broad, short brushstrokes and many colors. Fauvism is closely related to Impressionism but features more extreme variations in color and style. It is best classified as an extreme branch of Impressionism. The Fauvist movement is considered one of the most important artistic movements of the 20th century. Fauvism was a short-lived, loose group of French artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong coloring over the figurative or realistic values held by Impressionism.

The Fauvist graphic technique was a reaction to the penchant for realistic, idealistic or romantic reproduction of nature. Fauvism rejected these practices in favor of creating vivid impressions through color and abstraction. Brutalist images do not represent logical registers but an irrational variety of shapes, colors and textures. Fauvism is basically a school that expresses itself through bright colors and strange shapes.

Learn more:

- The difference between art movements, art schools and art styles

- What are the three classic branches of art? Types of ancient arts

- When did modern art appear? The reason for the name and its most famous pioneers