Introduction
Fauvism refers to all the artistic techniques employed during the early 20th century. These artistic techniques were characterized by free treatment of structure as well as vivid colors that resulted in a decorative and vibrant effect (Denvir, 1978). Fauvism artistic styles were first applied in Paris in the year 1905 at the Autumn Salon. After the exhibition of fauvist artwork, Les Fauves, who was an art critique named the style as Fauvism which meant wild animals. He argued that the technique used very strong colors that hindered the natural color portrayal of the object. Besides, he argued that these painterly qualities did not give the representational values maintained by impressionism. According to Fauves, the colors only aimed at evoking certain emotions. This essay, therefore, seeks to discuss the study of the art movement in its historical context.
The Origin of the Movement
Although Fauvism as an artistic technique began around 1900 and developed during the early 20th century, the Fauvist art movement began in the year 1896. The movement was initiated by a set of neo-impressionist painters who aimed at experimenting with the effects of utilization of ‘The pure brilliance of color’ or a vast number of colors (Thompson, 2012). The movement was led by Henri Matisse and it only lasted for a few years. It composed of a group of members that shared similar characteristics and among them is the use of intense color so as to act as a vehicle for illustrating space and light. Besides, the members redefined pure color and structure and utilized them to convey their artistic emotional state. This, therefore, proved the movement as an essential precursor of future methods of abstraction, expressionism as well as cubism. Fauvist movement had three exhibitions that made it the first avant-garde movements to flourish in France.
The movement gained the name from Les Fauves who argued that the colors used in making the artwork resembled wild beasts. He come up with this notion after he attended an exhibition in Salon D’Automme and saw a classical statue in the show room that was filled with all the fauve art pieces from painters such as Matisse, Derain as well as Vlaminck. The sculpture was full of paintings with bright arbitrary colors that distorted the lines of these pieces similar to the art by savages. He, therefore, named them as wild beast in relation to the classical sculpture a name that meant Fauves in French. As a result, the movement was named as Fauvist and their style of painting was referred to as fauvism.
During the period when the movement was operational, Paris was not politically stable and most people had not embraced the idea of artwork. For instance, the state had suffered from bombardment during the First World War. Nevertheless, the state remained strong and even held various world’s fairs such as the Exposition Universelle that was aimed at celebrating the achievement of the previous century and welcoming more development in the new century. In the modern period, a number of scholars have tried to compare the Fauvist movement with the German Expressionism since both of them use spontaneous brushwork as well as brilliant colors.
People who were Instrumental in Forming the Aesthetic
There were a number of people that were instrumental in forming the Fauvist movement and establishing the Fauvism artwork. These people were known as the Fauve painters and they were the first painters to break with traditional styles of perception as well as Impressionism that are techniques that had been embraced by all other artists. Their spontaneous and subjective response to nature was highly-keyed and undisguised since they used vibrant colors to express their emotions in bold.
One of the Fauve painters was Henri Matisse. Matisse was the leader of the organization and had arrived at the Fauve technique after testing most of the Post-Impressionist approaches that were being used by Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin as well as Georges Seurat (Meyers, 2002). His findings led him to criticize and reject the traditional renderings that were being defined by the color movement. He argued that the color movement emphasized on the three-dimensional space instead of the new picture space. Matisse, therefore, exhibited his first and famous artwork ‘Woman with the Hat’ in the Autumn Salon exhibition of 1905 (Smith, 2002). In his painting, Matisse had employed brisk strokes of different colors that include green, red and blue. The painting depicted the woman in an expressive and energetic manner. The painting was highly embraced since the raw canvas that was left exposed was appealing to the viewers.
The other notable Fauve painter was Maurice de Vlaminck. Vlaminck served in the movement from 1876 to 1958. During this period, he was referred to as ‘natural’ since he used highly intense colors that corresponded to the exuberant nature. Vlaminck final step of embracing the Fauve style was highly influenced by Van Gogh’s work in 1905. Besides, the paintings that were displayed by Matisse as well as Derain in Collioure at the Salon des Independants spring also persuaded him to join the movement and also embrace Fauvism. Other people who were instrumental in forming the aesthetic include; André Derain, Kees van Dongen, Georges Rouault, Othon Friesz, Charles Camoin, Louis Valtat, Henri-Charles Manguin, and Jean Puy.
Purpose Fulfilled by the Movement
In regard to the explosive use of colors, Fauvism was an advancement of the Impressionists and other colorist tradition. Therefore, the use of color enabled the movement to generate its own energy through the juxtapositions that occurred due to the application of complementary hues. As a result, the movement fulfilled various purposes such as the intentions of influencing the modern art. One of its major inputs to the modern art is the inculcation of valued individual expression (‘Fauvism,’ 2016). That is because the choice of colors enabled the artists to direct their experience as well as those of his or her subjects. Besides, the colors enabled him or her to convey his or her emotions and his intuitions. This, therefore, explains why the modern artworks express emotions.
Additionally, the movement attained the purpose of distinguishing the use of color and the descriptive and representational purpose of the art. This enables it to exist as an independent element in the canvas. Besides, the modern art has employed color in their work of art as a way of projecting mood and defining the structure of their paintings. Moreover, Fauvism acted as a transitional stage that enables the modern artists to balance their overall composition of arts. The reason is that the movement introduced the use of saturated colors and simplified forms to draw attention of their viewers. Besides, the inherent flatness used on canvas gave every piece of art a pictorial space that made it play a specific role thus giving art a definite meaning.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is apparent that the Fauvism movement was a transitional or a learning period that later influenced the modern artwork. The movement concentrated on a technique that aimed at using colors to express emotions, attract the viewers as well as reveal the deep perceptions of nature. Besides, the use of the wild colors enabled the viewers to understand the conflict between knowledge and sight.
References
Denvir, B. (1978). Fauvism and expressionism. Woodbury, N.Y: Barron's.
Fauvism. (2016). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1.
Meyers, L. (2002). Fauve Art Presents A Wild Ride For Collectors. Art Business News, 29(3), 1.
Smith, A. (2002). Fauvism and Cultural Nationalism. Interventions: The International Journal Of Postcolonial Studies, 4(1), 35-52. doi:10.1080/13698010120117370
Thompson, V. P. (2012). "WiLD Beasts" roam the art room. Arts & Activities, 151(2), 26.
