ist & ism

IMPRESSIONIST, CUBIST OR POINTILLIST – THE BEGINNING OF EACH WORD ENABLES A COMPLETE ART-ILLITERATE TO UNDERSTAND THE TERM. SURREALISM AND REALISM ARE ALSO SELF-EXPLANATORY. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO FAUVISM THERE IS NO OBVIOUS CLUE

Words: CAROLYN KAIN

THE WORD ‘fauve’ was used to suggest that the artists were wild beasts. Intended as an insult, one French art critic went so far as to say the Fauves “had hurled a paint pot in the face of the public.”

It was the first artistic revolution of the 20th century and it caused critics to question the impulsive artwork and to abuse the artists who produced it. They ridiculed the intense colours, the sweeping brushstrokes and unconventional perspectives.

Other artists, most of them French, joined the movement despite being dubbed in the press as ‘Cage aux Fauves’–members of the wild beasts den! More prominent members such as Matisse and Cezanne were referred to as ‘incoherents’ and ‘invertebrates’.

The public were more receptive and between 1905 and 1910 three salons were held in Paris to display the group’s work. Fellow artists appreciated that the Fauves had been influenced by the wonderful bright colours used by Gauguin and van Gogh. Further down the line Edvard Munch, Degas, Manet and Monet acknowledged their own work had been stimulated by the Fauves. Although these extreme works of art were disparaged by