Derain and Matisse spent the summer of 1905 painting together at Collioure, on the French Mediterranean coast. The canvases they produced, shown at the Salon d'Automne that autumn, prompted the critic Louis Vauxcelles to call them les Fauves, the wild beasts. A movement was born from one insult. Derain was twenty-five.
Key facts
- Lived
- 1880–1954, French
- Works held in
- 3 museums[1]
Biography
He was born in Chatou in 1880 and had originally studied to become an engineer. He met Matisse in 1898 while attending painting classes under Eugene Carriere. The Fauvist paintings are explosions of unnatural colour: trees in orange, water in violet, shadows in green. They were among the most radical works produced in Paris at the turn of the century.
By 1908, Derain was already breaking with the style. He turned to Cezanne, then passed through a Cubist phase, and by the 1920s had arrived at a fully Neoclassical manner. The wildest of the Fauves became one of the most conservative painters in France. The conservative turn brought financial success and mainstream praise. During the Second World War, the Nazis approved of his Neoclassical work. After the war, he was unjustly accused of collaboration. His reputation never fully recovered. He died in 1954.
Timeline
- 1880Born in Chatou, just outside Paris in the Ile-de-France. His family expected him to become an engineer.
- 1898Began attending painting classes under Eugene Carriere at 18 in Paris, where he met Henri Matisse for the first time.
- 1905Painted alongside Matisse in Collioure at 25 during a transformative summer. Their vivid, unnatural canvases were shown at the Salon d'Automne, where critics dubbed them les Fauves ("the wild beasts").
- 1906Sent to London at 26 by dealer Ambroise Vollard to paint the city. He produced 30 canvases offering a radically different vision of London from Whistler or Monet.
- 1907Secured financial stability at 27 when dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler purchased his entire studio. He moved to Montmartre to be near Picasso.
- 1919Designed the ballet La Boutique fantasque for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes at 39 in Paris, a major success that launched a second career in theatrical design.
- 1928Awarded the Carnegie Prize at 48 for his Still-life with Dead Game, marking the height of his international reputation during the 1920s.
- 1954Died near Paris at 74 after being struck by a vehicle. His later years had been overshadowed by accusations of wartime collaboration with the German occupation.
Notable Works
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Where to See André Derain
3 museums worldwide.
-
60 works
Musée National d'Art Moderne
Centre Pompidou-Metz, France
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50 works
National Gallery of Art
Washington, D.C., United States
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38 works
Statens Museum for Kunst
Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark
Related Artists
Frequently Asked Questions
Andre derain art movement?
André Derain evolved his Fauve style while working with Vlaminck and Matisse.Andre derain art style?
André Derain evolved his Fauve style while working with Vlaminck at Chatou in 1904-5, and with Matisse at Collioure in the summer.How did andre derain become an artist?
André Derain met Matisse while studying with Carriere in 1899.Was andre derain a fauvism?
André Derain and Matisse founded Fauvism in 1905 while painting together in Collioure. One of Derain's best works from that time is his painting, *Mountains at Collioure*.What is andré derain best known for?
André Derain is known for his role in the Fauvist movement. He used colour in an unnatural way, with trees in orange, water in violet, and shadows in green.What is andre derain known for?
André Derain is known for transforming scenes into rainbows of primary colours, applied in bold blocks, creating a pulsating unity.When did andre derain die?
André Derain died in 1954 at the age of 74.When did andre derain start painting?
André Derain was familiar with reproductions of masterpieces by the age of eighteen.Where did andre derain live?
André Derain was born in Chatou near Paris.Who was andre derain?
André Derain was a French artist born in Chatou near Paris.Why did andre derain paint?
André Derain once said, "For us Fauvism was like an ordeal by fire... Our paints became sticks of dynamite. They were supposed to explode with light."What is andre derain most famous painting?
*The Pool of London* is one of André Derain's well-known paintings, depicting Tower Bridge in a rainbow of primary colours.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for André Derain.
- [1] museum Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum Barber Institute of Fine Arts Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum National Gallery Prague Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum Museum of Grenoble Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum Wallraf–Richartz Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum National Gallery Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] book Post-impressionism : cross-currents in European painting Used for: biography.
- [8] book Post-impressionism : cross-currents in European painting Used for: biography.
- [9] book Nathalia Brodskaya, The Fauves Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-31. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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