Fauvism and Henry Matisse

Fauvism

An example of Fauvism

This is a twentieth century art movement which had many similarities with impressionism, the movement didn't last long it was over before the first world war and only had three major exhibitions in the time where it was popular. The forms are often simplified and the colours unrealistic. This was because it was painted in the way that the painters pictured the objects, they painted things how they saw it.

The Fauvist movement started from France and some of the key artists where Henry Matisse and André Derain who I will look at in more depth later. This movement even though it was linked with expressionism it was the first to break away from it. The work is very spontaneous it's something that isn't really thought about before doing it. The colours that are used like I've said before are very unrealistic, but they are also very vibrant and usually came straight out of the tube.

The movement was a group of artists but they had no set rules or meetings they simply had similar aims of what they wanted to create with their work. They were all seeking a new way to create space and they found this in the use of the colour. I think like what I said before that I need to look at specific artists that followed this movement, but this research has provided me with a better colour understanding and given me the idea of creating space through colour something that I hope to bring to my work.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/fauv/hd_fauv.htm

Henry Matisse

les toits de collioure 1905

Matisse was one of the most famous and well remembered Fauvist artists; he is thought to have changed the path of modern art. He worked in multi disciplines which he is most famous for his paint and sculpture. He created work on many subjects which included landscapes and figurative works as well as still life. As the Fauvist movement progressed Matisse's style developed and changed; the brushwork became more expressive and the light changed.

The composition also changes allowing him to create his own pictorial language through the composition. His early work showed more traditional values before the Fauvist movement really took off, but was then clearly influenced by the new age of modern art. Matisse also played with texture, he varied it throughout the pieces; there are some areas created with impasto others which are flat planes of colour. These lead to shadows being created on the work making a new dimension and the work more interesting.

The sculptures that Matisse produced where commonly of figures and of the human form, they lacked colour they tended to be simply black with a varnish or sheen to them. I think from looking at Matisse's work and specifically the way that the paint is applied is something that I will take on board and try the different textures and thicknesses to the paint in the week.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mati/hd_mati.htm

André Derain

Henry Matisse 1905 76 X 35 Cm

Derain like Matisse was considered one of the cofounders of the Fauvist movement, again he worked in a large amount of disciplines, but I am most interested in the paintings that he created. In his time as a Fauvist painter he mainly focused on landscapes and portraits, one he even did one of his good friend Henry Matisse. However he moved away from Fauvism in 1911 to cubism something that developed out of Fauvism.

He then joined the military, but when he came out he started painting with a duller pallet maybe due to the things that he saw and experienced as a result of the war. Going back to his Fauvist stage and the way he used colour, he applied the paint in quite a thick painterly way. He also made sure that the brushstrokes appeared separately making a texture which helped create the illusion of light and shade. To help this there was often two different shades of colour used to create a contrast between the two.

Derain and Matisse are two very similar artists and they obviously had quite a strong friendship that made them influence each other easily which is why there work is so similar. I'm going to take both the artists methods on board to influence my work and there use of thickness in paint.

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/derain-henri-matisse-t00165