Fauvism | Definition, Art, & Facts

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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.theartstory.org/movement/fauvism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">The Art Story - Fauvism</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://artincontext.org/fauvism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Art in Context - Fauvism – The Origins, Artworks, and Artists of the Fauve Movement</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://human.libretexts.org/Courses/Solano_Community_College/ART_002%3A_Art_History/12%3A_The_Modern_Art_Movement_(1900_CE__1930_CE)/12.03%3A_Fauvism_(1900__1935)" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Humanities LibreTexts - Fauvism (1900 – 1935)</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://smarthistory.org/a-beginners-guide-to-fauvism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Smarthistory - Fauvism, an introduction</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/fauv/hd_fauv.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History - Fauvism</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://cec.nic.in/webpath/curriculum/Module/FART/Paper42/9/downloads/script.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Consortium For Education Communication - Fauvism</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/artcultures/chapter/cubism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Open Library Publishing Platform - Fauvism inspires Cubism and Simultanism</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-title">Britannica Websites</div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-subtitle">Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.</div> <ul class="list-unstyled bps-topic-web-sites lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/fauvism/323037" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fauvism - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written and fact-checked by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-10-11T00:00:00CDT" >Oct 11, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Fauvism/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Date: </dt> <dd><i>c. </i> 1900 - 1908</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Artists: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Henri-Matisse">Henri Matisse</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Georges-Braque">Georges Braque</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Georges-Rouault">Georges Rouault</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Sir-Matthew-Smith">Sir Matthew Smith</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Max-Weber-American-artist">Max Weber</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Fauvism"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref66840"></span>Fauvism</strong>, style of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/painting" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">painting</a> that <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="flourished" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/flourished" data-type="EB">flourished</a> in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/France" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">France</a> around the turn of the 20th century. Fauve artists used pure, brilliant colour aggressively applied straight from the paint tubes to create a sense of an explosion on the canvas.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The Fauves painted directly from nature, as the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Impressionism-art" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Impressionists</a> had before them, but Fauvist works were invested with a strong expressive reaction to the subjects portrayed. First formally exhibited in Paris in 1905, Fauvist paintings shocked visitors to the annual <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Salon-dAutomne" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Salon d’Automne</a>; one of these visitors was the critic <span id="ref753491"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Vauxcelles" class="md-crosslink ">Louis Vauxcelles</a>, who, because of the violence of their works, dubbed the painters <em>fauves</em> (“wild beasts”).</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The leader of the group was <span id="ref66841"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-Matisse" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Henri Matisse</a>, who had arrived at the Fauve style after experimenting with the various <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Post-Impressionism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Post-Impressionist</a> approaches of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Gauguin" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Paul Gauguin</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vincent-van-Gogh" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vincent van Gogh</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Georges-Seurat" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Georges Seurat</a>. Matisse’s studies led him to reject traditional renderings of three-dimensional space and to seek instead a new picture space defined by movement of colour. He exhibited his famous <em><span id="ref66842"></span>Woman with the Hat</em> (1905) at the 1905 exhibition. In this painting, brisk strokes of colour—blues, greens, and reds—form an energetic, expressive view of the woman. The crude paint application, which left areas of raw canvas exposed, was <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="appalling" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/appalling" data-type="EB">appalling</a> to viewers at the time.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/ultimate-art-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/74/129374-131-833AE3CF/Chalk.jpg" alt="Color pastels, colored chalk, colorful chalk. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, history and society" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Ultimate Art Quiz</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The other major Fauvists were <span id="ref66843"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Andre-Derain" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">André Derain</a>, who had attended school with Matisse in 1898–99, and <span id="ref66844"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maurice-de-Vlaminck" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Maurice de Vlaminck</a>, who was Derain’s friend. They shared Matisse’s interest in the expressive function of colour in painting, and they first exhibited together in 1905. Derain’s Fauvist paintings translate every tone of a landscape into pure colour, which he applied with short, forceful brushstrokes. The agitated swirls of intense colour in Vlaminck’s works are indebted to the expressive power of van Gogh.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="10179" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/12206-004-88E53D1D/Horses-Chateau-oil-canvas-Raoul-Dufy-Phillips-1930.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/202866/10179"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/12206-004-88E53D1D/Horses-Chateau-oil-canvas-Raoul-Dufy-Phillips-1930.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/12206-004-88E53D1D/Horses-Chateau-oil-canvas-Raoul-Dufy-Phillips-1930.jpg?w=300" alt="Raoul Dufy: Château and Horses" data-width="367" data-height="300" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/12206-004-88E53D1D/Horses-Chateau-oil-canvas-Raoul-Dufy-Phillips-1930.jpg" data-href="/media/1/202866/10179">Raoul Dufy: <em>Château and Horses</em></a><span><em>Château and Horses</em>, oil on canvas by Raoul Dufy, 1930; in the Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Three young painters from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Le-Havre" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Le Havre</a>, France, were also influenced by Matisse’s bold and vibrant work. <span id="ref66845"></span>Othon Friesz found the emotional <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="connotations" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/connotations" data-type="MW">connotations</a> of the bright Fauve colours a relief from the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="mediocre" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mediocre" data-type="MW">mediocre</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Impressionism-music" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Impressionism</a> he had practiced; <span id="ref66846"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Raoul-Dufy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Raoul Dufy</a> developed a carefree ornamental version of the bold style; and <span id="ref66847"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Georges-Braque" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Georges Braque</a> created a definite sense of rhythm and structure out of small spots of colour, foreshadowing his development of <span id="ref66848"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Cubism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cubism</a>. Albert Marquet, Matisse’s fellow student at the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ecole-des-Beaux-Arts" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">École des Beaux-Arts</a> in the 1890s, also participated in Fauvism, as did the Dutchman <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kees-van-Dongen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Kees van Dongen</a>, who applied the style to depictions of fashionable Parisian society. Other painters associated with the Fauves were <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Georges-Rouault" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Georges Rouault</a>, Henri Manguin, Charles Camoin, and Jean Puy.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="75133" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/94/28294-004-8BCCC63B/Figure-Background-oil-painting-Henri-Matisse-Paris.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/202866/75133"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/94/28294-004-8BCCC63B/Figure-Background-oil-painting-Henri-Matisse-Paris.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/94/28294-004-8BCCC63B/Figure-Background-oil-painting-Henri-Matisse-Paris.jpg?w=300" alt="Henri Matisse: Decorative Figure on an Ornamental Background" data-width="329" data-height="450" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/94/28294-004-8BCCC63B/Figure-Background-oil-painting-Henri-Matisse-Paris.jpg" data-href="/media/1/202866/75133">Henri Matisse: <em>Decorative Figure on an Ornamental Background</em></a><span><em>Decorative Figure on an Ornamental Background</em>, oil painting by Henri Matisse, 1925–26; in the National Museum of Modern Art, Paris.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">For most of these artists, Fauvism was a transitional, learning stage. By 1908 a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="revived" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/revived" data-type="EB">revived</a> interest in <span id="ref66849"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Cezanne" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Paul Cézanne</a>’s vision of the order and structure of nature had led many of them to reject the turbulent emotionalism of Fauvism in favour of the logic of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Cubism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cubism</a>. Matisse alone pursued the course he had pioneered, achieving a sophisticated balance between his own emotions and the world he painted.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span><span class="md-signature">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Alicja-Zelazko/9823860">Alicja Zelazko</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":202866,"pageLength":471,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"A","adLeg":"A","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Fauvism | Definition, Art, & Facts | Britannica