Les Fauves

Wild independent colours

Introduction:
At the Salon d’Automne of 1905 the artists that exhibited in room VII were called ‘Les Fauves’, the wild (wild animals). They were called that way because they used bright colours, that were applied in an independent way. Who were those artists? On this page you will find short information on them.
Note: this page has just been started. Additional info and pictures will be added later.
Note: many pictures are not yet in the public domain.

Bracque, Georges (1882-1963):
x
Sources: ; iR3; iR4; iR6;

Camoin, Charles (1879-1965):
Charles Camoin was born in Marseille (1879/09/23) and died in Paris (1965/05/20). His father died when he was 6. Studies in the studio of Gustave Moreau January till April 1898; friendship with Marquet, Manguin and Matisse; portrays Marquet in 1904/05. Since 1901 contact with Cézanne with an extended correspondence. 1903: visits Monet in Giverny. Between 1904 and 1906 Camoin traveled with Marquet and Manguin along the southern coast of France, namely in Saint-Tropez, Agay, Cassis, Antheor and Marseille (iR14). 1906: meets Signac in Marseille. In 1907 he settled in Montmartre. Visits Renoir in Cagnes in 1918 and is influenced by him. 1920s: Lives alternately in Paris, Marseille and in Saint-Tropez.
His palette is often more muted, still, Camoin sees himself foremost as a colorist (R533,p126). His brushstrokes are often broad and quite thin; he left areas of bare canvas visible. Camoin often depicted explicit locations. He painted namely in: Paris, Marseille, Cassis, Agay, Saint-Tropez, Collioure, Cannes, Menton, Corsica, Suresnes. He also indicated atmospherical influences. In his work there is a tension between the faithful rendering of an external location and the transcription in a personal perception. Their overall composition was marked by a strong sense of rhythm and structure, their simplified shapes reduced to their most basic elements through large flat tints of colour bordered by a black line (camoin.com//1908-1913).
Exhibited art-works:
3SdA-1905-285, Agay (bord de la mer) =? R533,p206; iR64;
3SdA-1905-286, Port de Cassis, coleil couchant (=? iR6;M211).
Solo expositions:
1908, Kahnweiler gallery;
1914, Druet gallery;
1923, Berheim-Jeune gallery;
Sources: Ferrier (R533,p129+130+206); charles-camoin.com; WikiPedia (iR3; iR4), WikiMedia (iR6), Christies (iR15), Sotheby’s (iR14), DACS,

Derain, André (1880-1954):
1900: shared a studio with De Vlaminck. Painted in the summer of 1905 with Matisse in Collioure (R224,p12). Exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants (1905+), at the Salon d’Automne (1905+), at Berthe Weill (1906-). Contacts with Bracque, Piccasso.
Sources: Diehl (=R282); iR3; iR4; iR6 (overview per year); iR6 (overview with links);

Dufy, Raoul (1877-1953):
x
Sources: ; iR3; iR4; iR6 (paintings); iR6 (overview with links);

Friesz, Othon (1879-1949):
Othon Friesz
Sources: ; iR3; iR4; iR6 (display of pictures); iR6 (overview with links); iR6 (paintings);

Girieud, Pierre (1876-1948):
Pierre Girieud (1876-1948) is quite forgotten, but 5 of his still lifes were shown at room VII of the Salon d’Automne in 1905. Still, he used Fauve elements in his paintings and Vauxcelles (Gil Blas 1905/10/17) remarked ‘His colour palette is dazzling’ (iR40).
Sources: PierreGirieud.fr; iR4; iR6; iR17; 2018 expo; iR313;

Manguin, Henri (1874-1949):
Henri Manguin
Sources: ; iR3; iR4; iR6;

Marquet, Albert (1875-1947):
Albert Marquet was born 1875/03/26 in Bordeaux and died 1947 in Paris. Entered the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1890. Entered the studio of Gustave Moreau in 1897. One of the closest friends of Matisse. Took over his studio at 9, Quai Saint-Michel in Paris in 1908. Later he used a studio at the Quai Conti and a room at Quai du Louvre. He lived at 204, Rue de Rivoli. Due to eye problems (since 1891) he painted from behind windows. Painted in Agay (1905), Sainte-Adresse (1905/06), Fécamp (1906), Le Havre (1906), Trouville (1906; with Dufy). Made travels to Rotterdam (Holland), Hamburg (Germany), Naples (Italy), Tanger + Rabat (Marok), Egypt, Norway and Alger (1940-45).
Marquet namely depicted (Paris) cityviews, harbourviews and marines. He rendered atmospherical influences in his landscapes. He often used grey tones and subdued colours, in this sense you could wonder if he really was a Fauve. As he told his friend Francis Jourdan, the 5 paintings exhibited at the Salon d’Automne of 1905 in room VII, were namely painted in black and white; that he joined this room was more a coincidence.
Marquet exhibited namely at the Salon des Indépendants (1901-?), the Salon d’Automne (19?) and the gallery of Berthe Weill (19?).
Sources: Ferrier (1992=R533,p212 +108-123); Leinz (1987 =R299,p31+32); iR3; iR4; iR6 (display of pictures); iR6 (overview with links); iR6 (links to paintings); iR6 (=Marquet: Catalogue de l’œuvre peint, Volume I / Jean-Claude Martinet and Guy Wildenstein, 2001)

Matisse, Henri (1869-1954):
See seperate page.

Henri-Emile Matisse was born in 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambresis (Nord) and died in 1954 in Nice.
In 1892 he entered the studio of Gustave Moreau and in 1898 the studio of Carrière.
Stayed in 1904 with Paul Signac in Saint-Tropez and shortly adepted elements of his divisionist painting style, namely in his painting ‘Luxe, Calm et Volupté’ (M7; iR3). But, he thought this style was too mechanical and too static.
Painted in the summer of 1905 with Derain in Collioure (R224,p12). He used pure and bright colours. He was seen as the head of Les Fauves (at the Salon d’Automne of 1905).
Later on Matisse was more focussed on rendering ‘balance, harmony and dignity’ (R299,p30). He used large (almost) monochrome coloured sections (compare Cloisonnism). He often used curved lines as arabesks, which gave a decorative effect. His use of colour became more muted.
Matisse travelled and visited Belle-Île (1895-97); Corsica (1898-1900); Toulouse (1898-99); Switzerland (1901); Saint-Tropez (1904); Collioure (1905-07 +1911); Issy-les-Moulineaux (1908-1911 +1918); Cavalière (1909); Morocco (1912/13); Étretat (1920/21) (see visimuz, p.15+16); between 1908 – 1917 he also travelled to Germany and Alger. In 1917 Matisse settled in Nice.
Matisse exhibited namely at the Salon SNBA (1896 +1897 +1899), Salon des Indépendants (1901 +1905 +1906), the Salon d’Automne (1903-1910+) and the gallery of Berthe Weill (1904 +1905/10 +1906 +1907/03 +1907/11 +1908). Matisse namely showed still lifes and interiors; he showed just a few landscapes and figure paintings. He also showed drawings / studies and (bronze) sculptures.
Exhibited art-works:
See link for works exhibited at the Salon d’Automne of 1905.
SdI-1905-2776, La terrasse (Saint-Tropez) (=? Gardner Boston)
5SdA-1907-758, Le Luxe (esquisse) (=M7)
SdI-1906-2289, Le bonheur de vivre (=!? M25=iR6)
5SdA-1907-759, Paysage (esquisse) (=M23)
6SdA-1908-894, Paysage aux oliviers (=? M23=iR6)
6SdA-1908-898, Panneau décoratif pour salle à manger (=M95)
6SdA-1908-902, Jeune marin (=M23)
8SdA-1910-536, La Danse (panneau décoratif) (=M95)
8SdA-1910-537, La Musique (panneau décoratif) (=M95)
Matisse musea: Le Cateau-Cambrésis et Nice Cimiez (M300). Other musea: Pompidou (M7); Puskin (M96); Hermitage (M95); MoMA New York (M41); SMK Copenhagen (=M292); Tate London (M62); MoMa San Francisco (M237);
Sources: Wilson (1991/93=R284); R229,p175/6; Ferrier (1992=R533,p213); Leinz (1987 =R299,p26-31); iR1; iR3; iR4; iR6 (overview with links); iR6 (thematical overview); iR6 (paintings per year); iR6 = iR19 (=Tout l’œuvre peint de Matisse / Massimo Carrà, 1982); iR14; iR15; iR155;

Puy, Jean (1876-1960):
Pupil at the Academie Julian and in 1899 at the Acedémie Carrière. Part of Les Fauves at the Salon d’Automne in 1905. Mostly his style has something between Les Fauves and Impressionism. One of his works was exhibited in the “impressionist” room at an exhibition in Rome in 1913.
Sources: R9,604; jean-puy.com; iR3; iR4; iR6; iR216;

Van Dongen, Kees (1877-1968):
x
Sources: ; iR3; iR4; iR6;

Vlaminck, Maurice de (1876-1958):
1898: De Vlaminck wrote anarchist articles. 1900: rented with Derain a studio in Chatou. Exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants (1905), at the Salon d’Automne (1905). 1907: one man show at Vollard. Influenced by Cézanne. 1913: visited Martigues with Derain. 1919: solo exhibition at Druet. 1933: exhibitions at Bernheim-Jeune and the Palais des Beaux-Arts. 1939: exhibition at Wildenstein in New York. 1956: retrospective at the Charpentier Gallery.
Sources: Selz (=R283,p93); iR3; iR4; iR6; .

Sources:
See at the bottom of the page on Fauvism.

Recommanded citation: “Meta-Impressionism: Les Fauves. Last modified 2026/08/22. https://www.impressionism.nl/les-fauves/”

Note: additional info and pictures will be added.