Fauvism [Anglais] [Broché]

Fauvism was an extremely short-lived movement in modern painting, and an extremely important one as well. The name was attached to a group of paintings exhibited at the Paris Autumn Salon in 1905 by such artists as Henri Matisse and George Braque. But the group of painters that the name Fauvism referred to had moved on to other things within a year. Still, while Matisse may not have considered himself a Fauvist by 1906, he always acknowledged the movement's importance. "Fauvism isn't everything," he said, "but it is the foundation of everything." Author Sarah Whitfield does a fine job of providing context for the Fauvist movement and an understanding of its impact on modern art.

The artists who made up the Fauve group of painters during the first decade of the 20th century include Matisse, Derain, Braque, and Vlaminck. Their work as a group is characterized by bright colors applied in broad, unblended brushstrokes, which earned them the name Fauves, or wild beasts. Whitfield (Georges Rouault: The Early Years 1903-1920, Antique Collectors' Club, 1993) recounts the formation and dissolution of the movement; its relation to other movements of the time, such as post-Impressionism and Cubism; and its place in the artistic development of each of its practitioners. As an overview, this work is written at a level suitable for students or others without much prior knowledge of the field. The reproductions are well integrated with the text, though the scarcity of color is a real drawback, given the central importance of color in the work. For larger general collections.?Kathryn Wekselman, Univ. of Cincinnati Lib.
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In a remarkably comprehensive achievement, and without ever a hackneyed word, Sarah Whitfield gives the reader not only the essence of Fauvism but its before and after as well.

Even though public and critical reaction to the first exhibited fauvist works was one of hostility and astonishment, fauvist paintings are today among the most loved of all twentieth-century art. Here are the artists--their works, relationships, achievements, affinities, and critics. 170 illustrations.