André Derain (1880–1954) worked together with Henri Matisse
during the summer of 1905 in Collioure and their highly innovative
paintings using a palette of vibrant, non-representational color gave
rise to their description as ‘fauves’ or ‘wild beasts’. And so the
short-lived but highly influential movement of Fauvism was born and by
1907 it was probably at its high point. It was in that year that Derain
spent some time in Cassis and amongst the canvases he produced is Pinède à Cassis (Musée Cantini, Marseille) which is shown here. As he wrote to his close friend and fellow-Fauve, Maurice de Vlaminck (1876–1958): “There are splendid landscapes here, certainly more beautiful than the ones of Collioure.”
Vlaminck would follow Derain to the town in 1917 but by then the
movement was a spent force and his palette had become more restrained as
can be seen in his Le Port de Cassis.
Charles Camoin (1879–1965) was born in nearby
Marseille but trained in Paris and was an enthusiastic member of the
Fauve movement. He was a regular visitor in the early 1900’s, sometimes
in company with his friend and fellow painter Albert Marquet and he was
certainly here in 1905 and 1907, possibly painting in company with
Derain and producing such works as Le Port de Cassis aux Deux Tartanes (Collection Thyssen Bornemisza, Madrid) and Le Port de Cassis (Private collection) which is shown here.
Émile Othon Friesz (1879–1949) was a native of
Le Havre and trained there at the School of Fine Arts where he met and
became lifelong friends with Raoul Dufy. After further study in Paris he
became part of the Fauve movement and he too was to be found painting
in Cassis and nearby La Ciotat in 1907.
Henri Charles Manguin (1874–1949)
studied at the École des Beaux-Arts where he met and became friends
with Matisse and Camoin. He was greatly influenced by the Impressionists
and saw the Fauve movement as the next step in his artistic
development. Often in the company of Albert Marquet, he traveled
extensively in Southern Europe, finally settling in Saint-Tropez just
before he died in 1949. In 1905 he joined Camoin at the Hôtel Cendrillon
which became the hub of the creative community. The picture shown is Aloès en fleurs and probably dates to 1912.
Henri Matisse (1869–1954) was an artist driven to experiment and continually push the boundaries of his own creative endeavour and as such he was one of the prime movers in the Fauve movement. Originally from the north of France he was attracted by the unique atmosphere of the Mediterranean coast and after a long and eventful career he spent his mature years in and around Nice where he achieved the union of line and colour that he spent so many years in search of. By 1909 when he spent a month in Cassis the Fauve movement had passed its peak and Matisse was ready to move on. He spent his time walking the cliffs absorbing the visual stimuli that the area has in abundance, sunlight on water, waves crashing against the rocks, patterns in the landscape, all of which would be distilled into his next great project, the Dance series.
Georges Braque (1882–1963) was born in Argenteuil in the suburbs of Paris and brought up in Le Havre. Although he started life as a house painter and decorator his innate talents soon led him in more creative directions and to Paris where he studied painting. His early style can be described as impressionistic but he soon enthusiastically subscribed to the Fauvist manifesto in company with Dufy and Friesz, all hailing from Le Havre. In 1907 he accompanied Friesz on a painting expedition to L’Estaque and then on to Cassis and nearby La Ciotat. Here they spent time with fellow-fauve André Derain, all drawing inspiration from the area. As with Matisse, Fauvism was only a brief period in Braque’s development as an artist and he would soon move on to be a leading figure in the Cubist movement together with Pablo Picasso.
Raoul Dufy (1877–1953) was another son of Le Havre and became lifelong friends with Friesz and Braque. He was influenced by the work of the Impressionists and then by Henri Matisse which led him into the Fauve camp for a brief time. The Mediterranean coast became a magnet for this creative coterie and at Cassis in 1907 they must have been tripping over one anothers easels. He was subsequently influenced by the work of Cézanne and accompanied Braque on a kind of pilgrimage to L’Estaque in 1908. After flirting with the cubism he went on to develop a style that became quintessentially his own. His animated oils, watercolours and prints have become iconic images that capture the gaeity and “joie de vivre” of the South of France. The image shown is Le Déjeuner de Cassis (Private collection).
Intoxication with Colour This refers to an exhibition held at the Fondation Regards de Provence devoted to the work of René Seyssaud (1867–1952) in 2012. He was a local man from Marseille and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and he developed a style all his own using vibrant colours to capture the essence of the provençal landscape. Although his work does not really belong to the Fauve movement he certainly employed a palette rich with primary colours and he was undoubtedly influenced by them. For many years he would spend the winter months in Cassis escaping the worst of the cold weather.
SELECTED PAINTINGS AND WHERE THEY MAY BE SEEN
If works mentioned in the text do not appear in the list they are in private collections.
André Derain Pinède à Cassis, 1907 (Musée Cantini, Marseille)
THE ‘WILD BEASTS’ ARRIVE
Charles Camoin (1879–1965) was born in nearby
Marseille but trained in Paris and was an enthusiastic member of the
Fauve movement. He was a regular visitor in the early 1900’s, sometimes
in company with his friend and fellow painter Albert Marquet and he was
certainly here in 1905 and 1907, possibly painting in company with
Derain and producing such works as Le Port de Cassis aux Deux Tartanes (Collection Thyssen Bornemisza, Madrid) and Le Port de Cassis (Private collection) which is shown here.
Émile Othon Friesz (1879–1949) was a native of
Le Havre and trained there at the School of Fine Arts where he met and
became lifelong friends with Raoul Dufy. After further study in Paris he
became part of the Fauve movement and he too was to be found painting
in Cassis and nearby La Ciotat in 1907.
Raoul Dufy (1877–1953) was another son of Le Havre and became lifelong friends with Friesz and Braque. He was influenced by the work of the Impressionists and then by Henri Matisse which led him into the Fauve camp for a brief time. The Mediterranean coast became a magnet for this creative coterie and at Cassis in 1907 they must have been tripping over one anothers easels. He was subsequently influenced by the work of Cézanne and accompanied Braque on a kind of pilgrimage to L’Estaque in 1908. After flirting with the cubism he went on to develop a style that became quintessentially his own. His animated oils, watercolours and prints have become iconic images that capture the gaeity and “joie de vivre” of the South of France. The image shown is Le Déjeuner de Cassis (Private collection).
