Dufy, Raoul

born June 3, 1877, Le Havre, Fr.

died March 23, 1953, Forcalquier

French painter and designer.

In 1900 he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and experimented with Impressionism, but by 1904 he had adopted the flat areas of bright colour typical of Fauvism. In the early 1920s he developed a distinctive style characterized by rapid calligraphic drawing on backgrounds of bright, decorative colour; his subjects were usually recreational scenes such as horse races, parades, and concerts. He also designed textiles and made numerous book illustrations.

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▪ French painter

born June 3, 1877, Le Havre, France

died March 23, 1953, Forcalquier

      French painter and designer noted for his brightly coloured and highly decorative scenes of luxury and pleasure.

      In 1900 Dufy went to Paris to attend the École des Beaux-Arts. He painted in an Impressionist (Impressionism) style in his early work, but by 1905 he had begun to employ the broad brushstrokes and bright colours typical of the Fauve (Fauvism) artists. A 1907 exhibition of Paul Cézanne (Cézanne, Paul)'s work convinced Dufy to adopt temporarily more subdued colours and structured compositions. He worked in a Cubist (Cubism)-influenced style with the painters Georges Braque (Braque, Georges) and Émile-Othon Friesz during 1908 and 1909, but he soon returned to his more carefree Fauvist approach.

      Dufy was also a successful artist in other media. In 1910 he produced a series of woodcuts to illustrate poet Guillaume Apollinaire (Apollinaire, Guillaume)'s Bestiary. He began to create designs for a textile company in 1912, and in the 1920s he designed ceramics and tapestries.

 In the early 1920s Dufy rededicated himself to painting and began to produce what are now his best-known works. His distinctive style is characterized by bright colours thinly spread over a white ground, with objects sketchily delineated by sensuously undulating lines. Dufy took as his subjects scenes of recreation and spectacle, including horse races, regattas, parades, and concerts. He spent much of his time on the French Riviera and produced series of paintings of Nice (1927), the Bois de Boulogne (1929), and Deauville (1930). He also worked as an illustrator and printmaker, creating whimsically drawn etchings and lithographs in the 1920s and '30s. Though very popular, his lively, carefree, elegant paintings have been criticized as occasionally bordering on the superficial.

 

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