Fauvism's Pioneers: Matisse, Derain, and the Wild Beasts

Key facts

• Fauvism originated from the 1905 Autumn Salon in Paris, where artists exhibited in a room with a Donatello sculpture.
• Critic Louis Vauxcelles coined the term 'les Fauves' (wild beasts) after seeing the exhibition.
• Henri Matisse, the most famous Fauvist, abandoned law for painting and used color as his main instrument.
• André Derain was a co-founder of Fauvism and later became a Nazi collaborator during World War II.
• Georges Braque's Fauvist work led to his development of Cubism.
• Kees van Dongen's 1913 nude portrait of his wife was removed from the Paris Salon for indecency.
• Maurice de Vlaminck was influenced by Vincent van Gogh and wanted to 'burn down' the École des Beaux-Arts.
• Albert Marquet learned to use muted colors due to poverty and was not afraid of using pure black.
• Georges Rouault's early work as a stained glass maker influenced his painting style.
• Raoul Dufy worked in a coffee company before becoming an artist and collaborated with Paul Poiret.
• Jacqueline Marval was a rare female Fauvist who led a campaign against prosecuting van Dongen.