AN AMBIGUOUS ARTIST

André Derain (1880-1954: French)  is very ambiguous for me. Some of his work I like immensely and then other paintings I compare with Paul Cezanne, Picasso, Matisse and even Pissaro  or Signac and Seurat. . As you will see in the photos I took, that he has a very strange stick and glue style. He never wanted to belong to a movement so changed his way of painting frequently. On the other hand he was a founding member of Fauvism and worked closely with Maurice de Vlaminck and Matisse. In actual fact it was Matisse who helped to convince Derain’s family to let him pursue his career in painting.

There is so much of his work looks vaguely familiar. I tried only to take photos of what really seemed to stand out (for me) and work which was not influenced too much by other artists

This is where he began...
A House in Chatou - 1900
Still Life - around 1904
Nude in front of a miror - 1901
French Republic : Liberty, Equality  Fraternity 1903-05
Chatou - André arriving in his home town - 1903-05
The Orchestra, Musiciens - 1905-06
The Girls - 1905-06

His colours too are not exactly glaring and frankly quite dull which is a move away from the Fauvism movement, even if he does change his style under the influence of Matisse and Vlaminck
The Ball in Suresnes - 1903
Lucien Gilbert around 1905
Henri Matisse -1905
Mme Derain in green - 1907
Self portrait - 1913-14
Portrait of a Young girl - 1914
Henri Matisse - 1905
The Italian Woman sitting down - 1913

 But you can't mistake his  fauvism

Bathers - 1907
The Bay at Martigues -1908
Trees close to Martigues - 1908
Martigue Landscape - 1908
Saturday - 1913
The hunt (The golden Age (Terrestrial Paradise) 1938-44
Cassis Landscape - 1907
 Nor perhaps the pointillism 
London Bridge - 1906-07
London Bridge - 1906-07
View of the Thames, London Bridge - 1906-07
Mountains in Collioure - July 1905





















Somewhat influenced by Monet?
 
Houses on the sea shore (Montreuil-sur-Mer) -1910

Collioure - 1905


Collioure

Collioure - 1905





And how about a little cubism








Bachique Danse - 1906
Three Bathers - around 1906

Three people sitting in the grass - 1906
Or the another series of bathers?
Bathers - around 1908-1909
Bathers - 1908








At times, quite classical and this style may have helped him to have a wide recognition throughout Europe and the United States…
Naked woman seen from her back - 1907
Sketches of a stone statue - 1907


The Dance - 1906



















This we really  liked...very different

Many of the journalists have acclaimed this exhibition as one of the greatest of his work. Although I know it quite well, it is certainly the biggest exhibition that I have seen. Perhaps one of the reasons he was not followed closely after the war that he had probably collaborated with the Germans...

So do I like his work? I’m still not sure…



Commentaires

Michael Keane a dit…
An authenticator generally examines a painting on the basis of 'style' - e.g the painting may be genuine if it accords with the style of Picasso, Matisse, etc'. As you say, it would be difficult to cite one particular style in this case. Love some of his work, however.
2/3/18 23:41
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