Fauvism

What is fauvism?

Fauvism is a painting movement whose distinguishing mark is a striking, almost explosive use of colour and a loosened form. The fauves used colours independently of how things actually look, and would happily paint a tree red or a face green. They also gave up classical perspective and shading, because their aim was not to render the world faithfully but to transfer joy, energy and strong emotion onto the canvas. And why shouldn't the sky be orange, if that is how it sounds within us?

When and how did fauvism come about?

It appeared briefly around 1905 in France, and its life was really only a momentary flash. Paradoxically, the movement owes its name to criticism: one reviewer called the artists fauves, wild beasts, for their savage colour. The artists took the label as their own and turned a jibe into the name of an entire movement. Isn't it charming how a barbed remark became a name in the history of art?

Who are the most important fauves?

The leading figures were Henri Matisse, who can be regarded as the movement's guiding spirit, together with André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck. It was they who took colour to a freedom not seen before and opened the path along which all of modernism then travelled. Matisse's work is a fixture of the world's collections and auction catalogues alike. Their courage in handling colour freely still feels surprisingly fresh today.

How does fauvism stand in the Czech context?

Fauvism never established itself in the Czech context as a movement in its own right, though its principles noticeably influenced the art of the time. Striking colour appears among Czech modernists, and the fauvist freedom of colour also inspired expressive strands of Czech painting. Fauvism is therefore represented only marginally in Czech collections, but its influence seeps indirectly into domestic work. Sometimes a trace need not be loud to be felt.

How does fauvism do on the art market?

Internationally, the movement's early works are highly prized — those from the short, all the more intense period around 1905, when the fauves' courage with colour reached its peak. Precisely because the movement lasted only a few years, genuine fauvist canvases are scarce, and their rarity drives collectors' interest upwards. For a Czech audience, fauvism is more a chapter we admire in the world's collections than one we meet at domestic auctions. All the greater the pleasure when we do come across such a work.

— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club