Derain

André Derain, French painter, sculptor, engraver and writer of the 20thcentury, played a central role in the emergence of Fauvism.

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Although self-taught, he was inspired by great contemporary masters such as Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Cézanne. In 1900, he became friends with Maurice de Vlaminck, with whom he rented a studio on Chatou Island, on the banks of the Seine. In 1904, Derain participated for the first time in the Salon des Independants. The following year, with Henri Matisse, It Caused the First Aesthetic Revolution of the 20th century in Collioure, in the south of France. Their Fauvism, an artistic current characterized by bright colors and simplified design, seeks to express emotions and sensations in an intense and spontaneous way.

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In 1906, the discovery of primitive art in London upset Derain. He then took a new look at the work of Paul Gauguin and became one of the main representatives of the “return to order.” He now focuses on classical themes where emotion is reflected in the simplicity of the subject, the intensity of the gaze and the purity of the line.

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His prolific work has now joined museum and private collections around the world. In 2020, the Pompidou Center in Paris presents the exhibition Derain 1904-1914, the radical decade, bringing together the most acclaimed productions of André Derain.