Analysis of the Fauvism Movement in Art History Essay

This essay delves into the Fauvism art movement, a pivotal period in 20th-century art history, originating in France. It highlights the movement's significance in separating color from its descriptive role, allowing it to become an independent element, thereby revolutionizing the canvas. The essay discusses the contributions of key artists like Henri Matisse, known for his vivid brushstrokes and rejection of traditional three-dimensional spaces, and Paul Gauguin, recognized for his bold colors and simplified forms. It analyzes specific artworks such as Matisse's "Woman with the Hat" and Gauguin's "Yellow Christ," illustrating their unique styles and influence on subsequent art movements. The essay emphasizes Fauvism's short-lived but impactful role in modern art, particularly its emphasis on color's expressive and structural capabilities, and its lasting legacy in the evolution of art forms.

Running head: ART HISTORY
ART HISTORY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ART HISTORY
Art movements have seen to have contributed to the growth of art and are seen to play
a pivotal role in art history. One of the most famous and noteworthy art movements in the
history of art was Fauvism. In the 20 the century, a new style and type of painting was
flourishing and gaining importance in France which was led by les Fauves, a group of
modern artists who belonged to the early 20th century which was known as Fauvism. Fauvism
had major significance and highly contributed to the history of art and also to modern art
which was their radical goal of differentiating and separating color from the representation
and descriptive purpose and allowed the color to be the independent element which created a
huge sense of explosion of the canvas (Barr Jr, 2019). Fauvism was viewed as a huge
refinement and elegance in French painting and also the fact that Paris was the undisputed
center of the world art.
It was seen that the Fauves generally painted the nature like the Impressionists did
however, the Fauvist artist were seen to be invested with a very strong expressive reactions to
the portrayed subjects. The Fauvism movement had given many popular artists whose works
are still admired today; two of the most famous painters of the Fauvism movements were
Henri Matisse and Paul Gauguin.
Henri Matisse is one of the most influential and a famous painter of the 20th century
and it has been seen that that his stylistic innovations had fundamentally altered the process
and course of the modern art. Henri Matisse was the leader of the group; he had experimented
with many Post-Impressionist approaches of Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat and many
more which finally led him to the Fauve style (Cohen, 2017). This had highly inspired
Matisse to reject the three dimensional spaces which were traditional back then and seek a
new space which would be defined by the color and its movement.

2ART HISTORY
Henri Matisse was highly significant to the movement as he is considered to be one of
the pioneers alongside Andre Derain to introduce vivid brushstrokes and unmaterialistic
colours into his paintings. His style of painting and the brilliant use of brushstrokes and
colours can be seen in one of his famous paintings, Woman with the Hat which he showcased
at the 1905 exhibition.
Matisse, 1905, Woman with the Hat, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Source: (Metmuseum.org., 2020)
In this painting it can be seen that how brilliantly Matisse has used brisk strokes of the
colours, red, blue and green which makes it forms an expressive view of the painting. The
application of the paint is seen to be in a crude manner which shows that some of the areas of
canvas exposed which during that time appalled the viewers. There are many pieces of art
work by Matisse that have become very famous and it has been seen that his influence later
led to many artists following his footsteps. He has highly contributed to the history of art and

3ART HISTORY
had introduced the colour as the foundation for decorative and expressive and also
monumental paintings.
The other famous painter of the Fauvism movement was Paul Gauguin. Paul Gauguin
is considered to be one of the most notable post-impressionist French artists. According to
scholars, Paul Gauguin was often considered to be the pioneer and the main person who
introduced modernist art. He is one of the most significant painters in the history of art and
was famous because of his experiments he did with colour and because of the synthetist style
which was distinct and very different from Impressionism (Welten, 2015). Paul Gauguin had
a unique style which was different from the other painters in the movement, he was very
popular for the use of bold colours in his painting and the strong lines and simplified forms
which could be seen in his paintings. One of the most paintings by Paul Gauguin was the
Yellow Christ which he painted in the year 18898.

4ART HISTORY
Image: Gauguin, Yellow Christ, Albright-Knox Art Gallery
Source: (Albrightknox.org., 2020)
The unique style that Gauguin followed and practices in his paintings can be seen in
the painting. The Yellow Christ is one of the most famous paintings by Gauguin and it is a
classic example of a symbolic piece. The painting depicts the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and
there are women who are gathered around Christ and are praying. He uses strong and bold
lines to give a definition to the figures and is seen to reserve the shading for the women only
which depicts his style of painting. The stark contrasts, use of bright and bold colours and
the body proportions made him different from his contemporaries and played a huge role in
contributing to the history of art and paving way for another movement which was the
Primitivism art movement.
Fauvism was considered to be a radical trend in the history of art for over 30 years.
The movement was very short-lived however a great effect on the role had and perceived
value of colour in paintings. Fauvism had made major contribution to modern art and highly
emphasized on the use of colour. It was seen that colour could be projected as a mood and
also establish a concrete structure within the artworks without them having to be true to the
existing world. Fauvism had given the world various famous painters who have contributed
largely to the field of art and has helped in contributing to the revolution of art forms and two
of the famous painters who have been discussed in this paper are Paul Gauguin and Henri
Matisse. Henri Matisse’s Women with the Hat and Paul Gauguin’s the Yellow Christ are
considered to be among the most famous works during Fauvism and is still seen to be
admired and viewed by people.

5ART HISTORY
Reference
Albrightknox.org. (2020). Le Christ jaune (The Yellow Christ) | Albright-Knox. Retrieved 2
April 2020, from https://www.albrightknox.org/artworks/19464-le-christ-jaune-
yellow-christ
Barr Jr, A. H. (2019). Cubism and abstract art. Routledge.
Cohen, J. I. (2017). Fauve Masks: Rethinking Modern “Primitivist” Uses of African and
Oceanic Art, 1905–8. The Art Bulletin, 99(2), 136-165.
Metmuseum.org. (2020). Woman with a Hat (Femme au chapeau), 1905 by Henri Matisse.
Retrieved 2 April 2020, from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mati/hd_mati.htm
Welten, R. (2015). Paul Gauguin and the complexity of the primitivist gaze. Journal of Art
Historiography, (12), 1.