About the movement
Le fauvisme est un mouvement pictural français né au début du XXe siècle, caractérisé par l'utilisation audacieuse de couleurs pures et vives, appliquées en larges aplats. Le terme « fauves » a été donné par le critique Louis Vauxcelles lors du Salon d'automne de 1905, en voyant les toiles aux couleurs éclatantes exposées par Henri Matisse, André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck et leurs compagnons. Les fauves rejettent la palette naturaliste au profit de couleurs expressives et subjectives : un arbre peut être rouge, un visage vert. Bien que le mouvement ait été de courte durée, il a marqué une rupture décisive avec l'académisme et a ouvert la voie à l'abstraction. Les musées de France, notamment le Centre Pompidou et le musée d'Art moderne de la ville de Paris, conservent des chefs-d'oeuvre fauves d'une luminosité et d'une audace chromatique remarquables.
Major artists
Other art movements
See also
tpl.voir_aussi_centuries
tpl.voir_aussi_techniques
tpl.voir_aussi_museums
tpl.voir_aussi_related
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know
The Fauvisme movement is an artistic current that developed during the 1904-1908 period. It is characterized by shared aesthetic choices, techniques, and a vision of art among a group of artists, and has profoundly shaped the history of art in France and Europe.
The Fauvisme movement is generally situated in the 1904-1908 period. As with any artistic current, its chronological boundaries are indicative: the origins may be earlier and the movement's influence may extend well beyond its main period of activity.
The Fauvisme movement brought together many artists whose works are held in the museums of France. Check the list of associated artists on this page to discover the major figures of this current and access their works referenced in the Joconde database.
The number of works associated with the Fauvisme movement varies depending on classification criteria. The Joconde database of the Ministry of Culture catalogues works associated with this current across all institutions labeled "Museum of France." The exact total is shown at the top of the artworks list on this page.
Works of the Fauvisme movement are spread across many museums of France, both in Paris and in the regions. National museums and major provincial museums hold significant collections of this current. Dell'Arte allows you to locate these works by museum or by city.
The Fauvisme movement (1904-1908) is distinguished by its own aesthetic and technical choices that differentiate it from preceding and following currents. These characteristics are visible in the works held in the museums of France, which you can explore on this page.
Like most artistic movements, Fauvisme exerted an influence on the currents that followed it. Artists of subsequent generations often adopted, transformed, or challenged the principles of Fauvisme, thus contributing to the continuous evolution of art history.
On Dell'Arte, you can refine your exploration of the Fauvisme movement by filtering by artistic field: painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, decorative arts, and others. These filters are available on the movement page and allow you to target works according to your interest.
The artworks presented come from the Joconde database of the Ministry of Culture (data.culture.gouv.fr), under Open License v2.0. The descriptions and artist groupings are based on catalogue entries written by the curators of the museums of France and on reliable historical sources.
The museums of France regularly organize temporary exhibitions around major artistic movements, including Fauvisme. Check the websites of museums that hold works of this current for current programming and upcoming events.
The presence of the Fauvisme movement in collections varies by museum and region. Major cities and national museums generally hold the most significant collections, but noteworthy works may also be found in lesser-known provincial museums.
The Fauvisme movement (1904-1908) holds an important place in the history of French art. It reflects the cultural, social, and technical developments of its era and constitutes an essential link in understanding artistic creation in France, as documented by the collections of the museums of France.