The Fauves

The Fauvist movement was the high-spirited stepchild
 of pointillism and impressionism. The exuberant 20th-century art movement was led by Henri Matisse. The Fauves emphasized vivid colors, hearty brushstrokes and simplified forms. The subject matter of the Fauve painters is generally lighthearted. They favored seascapes, the French countryside, portraits,  nudes, and domestic interiors. The Fauve palette is what set them apart. Fauvists used paint directly from the tube and never mixed their colors. They favored deep reds, oranges, and bright greens.  The Fauve colors seemed intense and tasteless, even offensive to art critics of the time. Andre Derain stated "We were always intoxicated with color, with words that speak of color, and with the sun that makes colors live."

This new style of paintings was a reflection of the transformation that was taking place in Europe, the change from the restrictive Victorian age to a more enlightened, tolerant society. Raoul Dufy asserted, "I don't follow any system. All the laws you can lay down are only so many props to be cast aside when the hour of creation arrives."
 

When the Fauvists held their first exhibit, the daring forms and vivid colors outraged the Paris art world. Critics stormed out and threw glasses of wine at some of the paintings. One critic, Marcel Dupree, was so aghast at the Fauvist paintings he vomited outside the gallery and took to his bed for several weeks.