Origin of Modern Art (III)

Origin of Modern Art (III)

Written by Alfonso Elizondo

André Derain (1880 – 1954) shows that he is part of the fauvist group because of the liveliness of his palette, his bold perspective and his readiness to simplify. In 1908 he turned to the teachings of Cezanne with a deeper vision of nature. Shortly before World War I, a new phase of his evolution began with his search, influenced by the French Primitives and African culture, which led to a dry but grandiose archaism.

After six years of savage painting, Derain turned into an example of moderation and became a conservative or political conformist who, during France’s darkest and most difficult hours, changed his humanistic principles and identified with the Nazis.

When World War I ended, Derain reacted against Dadaism and Surrealism and turned towards a realist art form inspired by Roman antiquity, in the direction of Caravaggio and Courbert.

Derain’s Fauvist paintings combine Vlaminick’s vehemence with Matisse’s culture. The pointillism technique of separating colors is blended with the Fauvist technique, combining them to create a very cheerful, unique style. Starting in 1908, after opening the way to Cubism and abstract art, he joined several Fauvist painters in the search for new creative paths.

Addendum: So-called Modern Art is totally alien to historical Modernity and is the singular contribution of a wonderful group of visual artists who created a new vision of the plastic arts and architecture that is still developing and becoming more complex with the emergence of digital science and technology.

Hyde Park, 1906, André Derain, (Troyes, Museum of Modern Art)

Boats in Collioure, 1905, André Derain, (Private collection)

Portrait of Matisse, 1905, André Derain, (London, Tate Gallery).