Fauvism

Fauvism was a relatively short-lived movement from around 1904 to 1908. The movement branched off from post-impressionism. Particularly influenced by Van Gogh's work and also took some technique from neo-impressionism.

The movement itself was concerned with the scientific theories of colour that had been worked on during the impressionism movements before it and became a small extension of this. Fauvism uses heavier brush strokes, non-natural colour palettes, complementing colours and over simplification of strokes.

Fauvism was named so after art critic of the time Louis Vauxcelles described the work of artists Henri Matisse and André Derain during their 1905 exhibition as Les Fauves (the wild beasts). The movement only witnessed three exhibitions in its time and yet is one of the most widely recognised styles, suggesting its popularity.

Henri Matisse is commonly credited as the most influential of the short movement. His paintings Woman with a Hat and Les toits de Collioure perfectly illustrate the ambitions of the other artists of the time.