Derain, André

De·rain (də-răɴʹ), André. 1880-1954.

French artist who was one of the original fauvists but eventually adopted a more conservative style.

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born June 10, 1880, Chatou, Fr.

died Sept. 8, 1954, Garches

French painter, graphic artist, and designer.

After studying in Paris at the Académie Carrière and Académie Julian, he developed his early style in association with his friends Maurice de Vlaminck and Henri Matisse; the three were the principal exponents of Fauvism. Their landscapes and figure studies featured brilliant colours, broken brushstrokes, and impulsive lines. By the 1920s, however, Derain had turned to the Neoclassical style (see Classicism and Neoclassicism). He produced numerous book illustrations and designs for stage sets, notably for Sergey Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.

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▪ French painter

born June 10, 1880, Chatou, France

died September 8, 1954, Garches

      French painter, sculptor, printmaker, and designer who was one of the principal Fauvists.

      Derain studied painting in Paris at the Académie Carriere from 1898 to 1899. He developed his early style in association with Maurice de Vlaminck (Vlaminck, Maurice de), whom he met in 1900, and with Henri Matisse (Matisse, Henri), who had been Derain's fellow student at the Académie Carriere. Together with these two painters, Derain was one of the major exponents of Fauvism from 1905 to 1908. Like the other artists who worked in this style, he painted landscapes and figure studies in brilliant, sometimes pure colours and used broken brushstrokes and impulsive lines to define his spontaneous compositions.

      Derain broke with Fauvism in 1908, when he was temporarily influenced by the works of the Post-Impressionist (Post-Impressionism) painter Paul Cézanne (Cézanne, Paul). Derain worked for a few years in a stylized form of Cubism, but by the 1920s his paintings of nudes, still lifes, and portraits had become increasingly Neoclassical (painting, Western), and the spontaneity and impulsiveness that had distinguished his earlier work gradually disappeared. His art underwent virtually no change after the 1920s, though his more conservative style brought him financial success.

      Derain had considerable ability as a decorator and created theatrical designs, notably for the Ballets Russes. He also produced numerous book illustrations, often in woodcut, for works by authors such as François Rabelais (Rabelais, François), Antonin Artaud (Artaud, Antonin), and André Breton (Breton, André).

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