Andre Derain
Born in Chatou, France in 1880.
Derain showed a talent for painting from an early age.
He was greatly inspired by the work of Matisse, Van Gogh and
Cezanne. He completely rejected traditional views of the
representation of shape and colour. Instead, he aimed to work only
with strong vibrant colours and images. Derain was the leader of
the “Fauves”, meaning wild beasts. This group of
artists were named for their wild use of colour, distorted images
and figures.
Derain showed no fear in his use of colour. He worked with
paint straight from the tube creating broken lines and fast
vigorous brushstrokes. Colours were arbitrary, representing a mood
or a moment rather than reality.
