André Derain
A revolutionary French painter who, alongside Matisse, ignited the Fauvist movement with canvases of pure, unrestrained color that shocked early 20th-century Paris.
1880–1954 (age 74)·French artist and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse·Birthday: June 10·The Gilded Age
Biography
In the summer of 1905, André Derain and his friend Henri Matisse went to Collioure and painted the Mediterranean landscape not as they saw it, but as they felt it. The results—vibrant, unnatural hues applied with raw energy—were so startling that a critic dubbed them 'les Fauves' (the wild beasts). Derain, then in his mid-twenties, was at the heart of this brief, incendiary movement that made color an independent emotional force. His 'London Series' from 1906 transformed the Thames into ribbons of brilliant pink and green. Yet Derain was intellectually restless. He soon retreated from this chromatic riot, delving into Cézanne's structure and the solemnity of early Renaissance masters. By the 1920s, he had become a leading figure of the 'Return to Order,' creating balanced, classical compositions that seemed a world away from his Fauve beginnings. This stylistic journey, from radical to traditionalist, has made him a complex and sometimes controversial figure, but his role in liberating color remains a pivotal moment in modern art.
The Gilded Age
1860–1882
Born during or after the Civil War, they built industrial America — the railroads, the steel mills, the first skyscrapers. An era of massive wealth, massive inequality, and the belief that the future belonged to whoever could build it fastest.
André was born in 1880, placing them squarely in The Gilded Age. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When André Was Born
The biggest hits of 1880
André's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1880Born
Edison patents the incandescent light bulb
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1885Started school
Karl Benz builds the first gasoline-powered automobile
President: Grover Cleveland
1893Became a teenager
World's Columbian Exposition dazzles Chicago
President: Grover Cleveland
1896Could drive
First modern Olympic Games held in Athens
President: Grover Cleveland
1898Could vote
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
President: William McKinley
1901Turned 21
Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Turned 30
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1920Turned 40
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Home: $3,395President: Woodrow Wilson"Swanee" — Al Jolson
1930Turned 50
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
1940Turned 60
The Blitz: Germany bombs London
Gas: $0.18/galHome: $2,938Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I'll Never Smile Again" — Tommy DorseyBest Picture: Rebecca
1950Turned 70
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1954Died at 74
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the Fauvist movement with Henri Matisse, revolutionizing the use of color in modern painting.
- Produced the celebrated 'London Series' (1906), bold Fauvist depictions of the Thames and city landmarks.
- Designed sets and costumes for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, including the ballet 'La Boutique fantasque.'
- Was a major influence in the interwar 'Return to Order' movement, championing a revival of classical techniques and themes.
Did You Know?
He was originally studying to become an engineer before committing to art.
During World War I, he served as a French army driver.
He collected African sculpture, which influenced his own work as a sculptor.
Later in life, he refused the Legion of Honour award from the French government.
“Fauvism was our ordeal by fire... Colors became charges of dynamite.”
