Fauvism At the beginnings of the 20’s century, Paris has three big exhibitions of art: the Independent’s one, the Spring
and the Autumn Exhibitions. Is in this last one, in the year of 1905, when took place a new revolution of color, that was growing up form the years before. In 1895, Georges Moreau admits the natural abilities of Henri Matisse and directs them, announcing prophetically “you will simplify the
pictures”. After the dead of Moreau in 1899, Matisse met Dèrain and Vlaminck. It was the birth of a group who make a scandal in 1905: colors grow with pure and intense tones, as they “left the pomander box” giving the pictures a brilliant polychrome. Matisse shows his “Portrait of the green line”. It will be an art’s critic, Vauxelles, which will say they were savages…fauves…in order to indicate the
chromatic and formal aggressively of the new style. This movement remains only two years at the top: 1905/1907, but was the most important at the beginnings of the century. We can distinguish three groups in it due to his origins:: the first, those who came from the Academy, Matisse, Albert Marquet, Georges Rouault and the pre-fauves Camoin, de Manguin and Puy; the second, Chatou’s School, André Dèrain and Maurice de Vlaminck and the third, the group of “The Havre” (1906) with Friesz, Raoul Dufy, Georges Braque and Charles van Dongen. The origins seem to be so different, but the great chief was Cézanne, in his lessons of structure and energy. From him they have learned to equilibrate the tones and built in progression, it means, build with color. We will find many of these names after, in other movements. This was not a cohesive “ism”, but personals affinities join them, the passion of painting and a conception of paint as a development of problems to resolve; meanwhile, each one was essaying with some of the preceding “isms” They believe in the being of beauty and the pleasure of paint; bringing a great respect to the form and to beautiful objects of every culture and epoch. They only want a pretty being through a revolutionary chromatist. They choose the same landscape as the impressionists do, but follow a great stabilization and a permanent synthesis. It is Matisse another time who resume this dynamic sensualist as “the effect of a show for feelings”. Between 1905 and 1906, the period of mixed technique, we find a synthesis between impressionism and a way more free about the chromatic areas, the stroke with the brush turns more easy and long, the color areas are intense and perfect limited, there are not shadows and they work with dissonant tones. In addition, we can find some spaces white, without paint, which has a great lighting effect. The painters were adding more quantity of paint. Examples of this period are:”Charing Cross Bridge” by Dèrain and “Portrait…” by Matisse. By 1907, the second chapter, the color areas are planes, perfectly limited, with surfaces painted with energy. They reach great chromatic maturity and they remove colors from actual objects. The pictures have a great formal complexity, but drawing is not conventional. The themes are daily landscapes, human body; each one has his predilection, somebody is searching ornaments, with a great Gauguin’s influence. Of this epoch are”L’Estaque” by Dèrain and “Luxury” by Matisse. At the end of 1907, the disconnection was so great that Matisse and Dèrain cannot stand it and each one takes his way.