Fauvism was the first of the major avant-garde movement in European twentieth century art. Fauvism is characterized by intensely vivid, unnatural paintings which utilize bright colors to convey a mood. The fauvist style grew out of the Pointillism movement and is characterized by its primitive style, and less natural forms. Artists such as Gauguin and van Gogh played a large part in influencing the movement.
Fauvism is quite similar to expressionism in that forms are distorted and colors are used in order to create an intense mood. The fauvist movement was first recognized around 1905 when they had their first exhibition in Paris, led by the artist Henri Matisse. The fauvist movement was named by a critic who proclaimed that the painters were “wild beasts” or “less fauves” in French, thus giving the movement its name. The fauvist movement was short lived but represented the first break from artistic traditions; it was the first high-impact art movement of the 20th century.
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was born in 1869 in Le Cateau and originally pursued a career as a lawyer, but began to paint after a serious attack of appendicitis. Matisse joined the studio of Gustave Moreau at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he met other artists such as Camoin, Marquet, Jean Puy, and Manguin. The early works by Matisse were greatly influenced by Seurat in that they were very pointillistic.
Later Matisse became Neo-Impressionistic in that he used bold shapes and colors. As his style matured he put emphasis on simple lines and saturated color. In many of his paintings, Matisse uses patterns and shapes creating an effect that diminishes a sense of space. Matisse was a leader in many art circles and worked as a primary contributor to the Fauvist movement. Apart from paintings, Matisse also sculpted with clay, bronze, and ceramics. In addition he ran an art academy for 3 years, and issued a personal statement in the form of his "Notes d'un Peintre" in 1908.
