Fauvism

Fauvism is a style of painting practised by a loose group of early twentieth-century Modern artists which was defined by the use of strong colour and bold brush marks to give a potent yet simplified and slightly abstracted impression of the subject. It was a kind of impressionism turned up a notch! Leading names in the movement were Henri Matisse and Andre Derain with Vincent Van Gogh's Post Impressionist use of colour and mark-making cited as a major influence.

Pictured is the Art Critic, Louis Vauxcelles. When he attended one of their group exhibitions in 1905, he dismissed the work on display as the work of Wild Beasts or 'les Fauves' in his native French. The style was, henceforth, known as Fauvism.