At the start of the 20th century, the Fauvism art movement began to gain recognition. The Fauves (meaning “Wild Beasts”) were known for their strong use of bright and pure colours. They valued bold linear patterns as opposed to realistic representations. The movement was short-lived and only lasted from 1905 to 1908, however in only a matter of 3 years the Fauves made a great influence on art history.
The Fauves enjoyed the emotional freedom that came through colour, but were also interested in the science behind colour theory. They specifically focused on complementary colours and how when applied beside each other on a painting, both colours will appear more vividly.
Clearly from these pieces we see the Fauves have a passionate connection with colour. They experimented with intense colours to play with space, light, and atmosphere. For the most striking results, they would use paint straight out of the tube and apply their brushwork aggressively to the canvas. They were trying to convey sensations, not likeness. A pioneer of the movement, Henri Matisse, put it simply:
“When I put a green, it is not grass. When I put a blue, it is not the sky.”
Even if the subject matter the Fauves painted were traditional, the unnatural Fauve colours definitely turned common motifs into something brand new, like nudes, portraits, landscapes, etc. The contemporary audience of Fauvism believed the colours to be assaulting to the eye and thought the style was effortless and clumsy. But it just so happens that Fauvism’s “assaulting colours” would later on influence many important artists such as Munch, Kokoshcka, Kandinsky, and Rauschenberg.
Sources:
https://search-credoreference-com.ezproxy.capilanou.ca/content/entry/bght/fauvism/0
https://search-credoreference-com.ezproxy.capilanou.ca/content/topic/fauvism