The Noteworthy Figures and Art Pieces of Fauvism Art Movement

Throughout history, art movements and artists sometimes are not well-received by the general population of their time, such as the great Vincent Van Gogh. Another example is Fauvism, which comes from the French, “Les Fauves,” which means “The Wild Beasts.” An art critic of the time, Louis Vauxcelles, gave the name to this group as, essentially, an insult. The short-lived, French movement lasted about two years from 1905 to 1907, and people of the time found the art very appalling due its color and overall nature.

Fauvism, nevertheless, never stayed as a disliked art style, as it is now studied in today’s world and can be appreciated for what it was.

The, at first, appalling reaction to Fauvism was due to the irregular display of shocking and wild colors. The subject of a Fauvist painting would look unnatural due to the choice of colors, as the colors chosen would completely unnatural to the colors a non-Fauvist painting would have of the same subject.

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A painting such as The Turning Road by André Derain, where the subject is a landscape with a small village surrounded by many trees. The colors of this painting seem to pop up or jump out at the viewer, with bold colors and sharp contrasts. This vivid style of color is the standard of Fauvism and how a Fauvist painting is made.

The Fauves’ technique is not the most advanced out there and is fairly simplistic, which is a given due to the simple colors a usual painting has.

The fresh, spontaneous feel to the artwork is caused primarily because of simple use and variety of paint. There was very little blending or mixing of colors during the process of painting Fauvist art piece. It can be assumed, but also, more often than not, there is color applied straight from the tube, as well. Moreover, colors are purposely chosen to be unusual relative to what is actually being painted in the picture. Some might say the final result looks like an “explosion on the canvas.”

Another important, famous artist within the Fauvist movement was Henri Matisse, who painted one of the best pieces of the movement, The Joy of Life. Again, Matisse utilized bold and vivid colors, in his aggressive display to use non-natural colors amidst many who criticize these colors at the time. His limited use of tone and high use of complementary colors exemplifies the technique a Fauvist would use. In doing so, the sense of depth, as well as lighting, has been eliminated, which again goes against the traditional style of the time. Matisse did receive a lot of negative criticism around the time of his painting’s creation, but to today’s standards it is appreciated.

Fauvism was a very short movement, most likely due to the large backlash it received when it came into being. The style was too wild and unusual to the regular standard of art at the time. Its use of unnatural colors dared the normal construct of painting, and the criticism it received was the rapid consequence. Although resented during its time, Fauvism still lives on and can be appreciated for what it is.