André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of

Fauvism Fauvism ( ) is a style of painting and an art movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style of (, ''the wild beasts''), a group of modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong col ...

with

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

. In 2025, all of Derain’s work entered the public domain in the United States.

Life and career

Early years

Derain was born in 1880 in

Chatou Chatou () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. Chatou is a part of the affluent suburbs of western Paris and is on the northwest ...

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

, just outside Paris. In 1895 he began to study on his own, contrary to claims that meeting Vlaminck or

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

began his efforts to paint, and occasionally went to the countryside with an old friend of Cézanne's, Father Jacomin along with his two sons. In 1898, while studying to be an engineer at the Académie Camillo, he attended painting classes under Eugène Carrière, and there met Matisse. In 1900, he met and shared a studio with Maurice de Vlaminck and together they began to paint scenes in the neighbourhood, but this was interrupted by military service at

Commercy Commercy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. History Commercy dates back to the 9th century, and at that time its lords were dependent on th ...

from September 1901 to 1904. Following his release from service, Matisse persuaded Derain's parents to allow him to abandon his engineering career and devote himself solely to painting; subsequently Derain attended the .

Fauvism

Derain and Matisse worked together through the summer of 1905 in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

village of Collioure and Derain completed the '' Mountains at Collioure'' painting. Later that year they displayed their highly innovative paintings at the Salon d'Automne. The vivid, unnatural colors led the critic Louis Vauxcelles to derisively dub their works as '' les Fauves'', or "the wild beasts", marking the start of the Fauvist movement. In March 1906, the noted art dealer

Ambroise Vollard Ambroise Vollard (; 3 July 1866 – 21 July 1939) was a French art dealer who is regarded as one of the most important dealers in French contemporary art at the beginning of the twentieth century. He is credited with being a major supporter an ...

sent Derain to London to produce a series of paintings with the city as subject. In 30 paintings (29 of which are still extant), Derain presented a portrait of London that was radically different from anything done by previous painters of the city such as Whistler or

Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

. With bold colors and compositions, Derain painted multiple pictures of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

and

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule, Suspension bridge, suspension, and, until 1960, Cantilever bridge, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones ...

. These London paintings remain among his most popular work. Art critic T. G Rosenthal: "Not since Monet has anyone made London seem so fresh and yet remain quintessentially English. Some of his views of the Thames use the Pointillist technique of multiple dots, although by this time, because the dots have become much larger, it is rather more simply the separation of colours called

Divisionism Divisionism, also called chromoluminarism, is the characteristic style in Neo-Impressionist painting defined by the separation of colors into individual dots or patches that interact optically..Homer, William I. ''Seurat and the Science of Pain ...

and it is peculiarly effective in conveying the fragmentation of colour in moving water in sunlight." Derain CharingCrossBridge

In 1907 art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler purchased Derain's entire studio, granting Derain financial stability. He experimented with stone sculpture and moved to

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

to be near his friend

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and other noted artists. Fernande Olivier, Picasso's mistress at the time, described DerainClement 1994, p. 396 as:

Slim, elegant, with a lively colour and enamelled black hair. With an English chic, somewhat striking. Fancy waistcoats, ties in crude colours, red and green. Always a pipe in his mouth, phlegmatic, mocking, cold, an arguer.

At Montmartre, Derain began to shift from the brilliant Fauvist palette to more muted tones, showing the influence of

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

and

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...

. (According to

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh), and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and ...

, Derain may have been influenced by African sculpture before Picasso.) Derain supplied woodcuts in primitivist style for an edition of

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (; ; born Kostrowicki; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic of Poland, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...

's first book of prose, '' L'enchanteur pourrissant'' (1909). He displayed works at the Neue Künstlervereinigung in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in 1910, in 1912 at the secessionist

Der Blaue Reiter ''Der Blaue Reiter'' (''The Blue Rider'') was a group of artists and a designation by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc for their exhibition and publication activities, in which both artists acted as sole editors in the almanac of the same name ...

and in 1913 at the seminal

Armory Show The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was organized by thAssociation of American Painters and Sculptors It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of the many exhibition ...

in New York. He also illustrated a collection of poems by Max Jacob in 1912.

Towards a new classicism

At about this time Derain's work began overtly reflecting his study of the

Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

. The role of color was reduced and forms became austere; the years 1911–1914 are sometimes referred to as his gothic period. In 1914 he was mobilized for military service in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and until his release in 1919 he would have little time for painting, although in 1916 he provided a set of illustrations for

André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...

's first book, ''Mont de Piete''. After the war, Derain won new acclaim as a leader of the renewed

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

then ascendant. With the wildness of his Fauve years far behind, he was admired as an upholder of tradition. In 1919 he designed the

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

'' La Boutique fantasque'' for Diaghilev, leader of the

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...

. A major success, it would lead to his creating many ballet designs. The 1920s marked the height of his success, as he was awarded the

Carnegie Prize The Carnegie Prize is an international art prize awarded by the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It currently consists of a $10,000 cash prize accompanied by a gold medal. History The Carnegie Prize was established in 1896, t ...

in 1928 for his ''Still-life with Dead Game'' and began to exhibit extensively abroad—in London, Berlin,

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, New York City and

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. During the German occupation of France in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Derain lived primarily in Paris and was much courted by the Germans because he represented the prestige of French culture. Derain accepted an invitation to make an official visit to Germany in 1941, and traveled with other French artists to Berlin to attend a

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

exhibition of an officially endorsed artist,

Arno Breker Arno Breker (19 July 1900 – 13 February 1991) was a German sculptor who is best known for his public works in Nazi Germany, where he was endorsed by the authorities as the antithesis of degenerate art. He was made official state sculptor, ...

. Derain's presence in Germany was used effectively by

Nazi propaganda Propaganda was a tool of the Nazi Party in Germany from its earliest days to the end of the regime in May 1945 at the end of World War II. As the party gained power, the scope and efficacy of its propaganda grew and permeated an increasing amou ...

, and after the Liberation he was branded a collaborator and ostracized by many former supporters. A year before his death, he contracted an eye infection from which he never fully recovered. He died in

Garches Garches () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department, in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. Garches has remained largely residential, with a population of 17,898 ...

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

, France in 1954 when he was struck by a moving vehicle. Derain's London paintings were the subject of a major exhibition at the Courtauld Institute from 27 October 2005 to 22 January 2006.

Gallery

Self-portrait in studio by André Derain.jpg, ''Self-portrait in studio'', , oil on canvas, 42.2 × 34.6 cm, National Gallery of Australia File:Montagnes à Collioure, par André Derain.jpg , ''Mountains at Collioure'', 1905, oil on canvas, 81.3 × 100.3 cm,

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

André Derain, 1907, Pinède à Cassis (Landscape), oil on canvas, 54 x 65 cm, Musée Cantini, Marseille.jpg, ''Pinède à Cassis (Landscape)'', 1907, oil on canvas, 54 × 65 cm, Musée Cantini, Marseille André Derain, 1907, Paysage à Cassis, oil on canvas, 54 x 64 cm, Musée d'art moderne de Troyes.jpg, ''Paysage à Cassis'', 1907, oil on canvas, 54 × 64 cm, Musée d'art moderne de Troyes Brooklyn Museum - Landscape in Provence (Paysage de Provence) - André Derain.jpg, ''Landscape in Provence (Paysage de Provence)'', c. 1908, oil on canvas, 32.2 × 40.6 cm,

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

, Brooklyn André Derain, c.1908, Baigneuses (Esquisse), oil on canvas, 38 x 46 cm, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.jpg, ''Baigneuses'' (''Esquisse''), , oil on canvas, 38 × 46 cm, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris André Derain, 1910, View of Cagnes, oil on canvas, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany.jpg, ''View of Cagnes'', 1910, oil on canvas,

Museum Folkwang Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and patr ...

, Essen, Germany André Derain, 1911, La Table (The Table), oil on canvas, 96.5 x 131.1 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art.jpg, ''La Table'' (''The Table''), 1911, oil on canvas, 96.5 × 131.1 cm,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, New York André Derain, 1911, The Last Supper, oil on canvas, 227.3 x 288.3 cm, Art Institute of Chicago.jpg, ''The Last Supper'', 1911, oil on canvas, 227.3 × 288.3 cm,

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

André Derain, 1912, Window on the Park (La Fênetre sur le parc), 130.8 x 89.5 cm (51.5 x 35.25 in), Museum of Modern Art, NY.jpg, ''Window on the Park'' (''La Fenêtre sur le parc''), 1912, oil on canvas, 130.8 × 89.5 cm,

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

André Derain, 1912, Nature morte (Still Life), oil on canvas, 100.5 x 118 cm, The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Reproduced in Du Cubisme, 1912.jpg, ''Nature morte'' (''Still Life''), 1912, oil on canvas, 100.5 × 118 cm, The State

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Reproduced in '' Du "Cubisme"'', 1912 André Derain, 1913-14, Le Samedi, oil on canvas, 181 x 228 cm, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.jpg, ''Le Samedi'', 1913–14, oil on canvas, 181 × 228 cm,

Pushkin Museum The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (, abbreviated as , ''GMII'') is the largest museum of European art in Moscow. It is located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Sviatos ...

, Moscow Derain - Portrait of a Girl in Black (1913).jpg, ''Portrait of a Girl in Black'', 1913,

Derain - Portrait of a Man with a Newspaper.jpg, ''Portrait of a Man with a Newspaper'', 1911–1914, Hermitage Museum André Derain, 1907 (Automne), Nu debout, limestone, 95 x 33 x 17 cm, Musée National d'Art Moderne.jpg, ''Nu debout'', 1907 (Automne), limestone, 95 x 33 x 17 cm,

Musée National d'Art Moderne The Musée National d'Art Moderne (; "National Museum of Modern Art") is the national museum for modern art of France. It is located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris and is housed in the Centre Pompidou. In 2021 it ranked 10th in the list of ...

André Derain, photograph published in Gelett Burgess, The Wild Men of Paris, Architectural Record, May 1910, sculpture-Nu debout (Standing Woman), 1907.jpg, Photograph of Derain published in Gelett Burgess, "The Wild Men of Paris", ''Architectural Record'', May 1910. Sculpture: ''Nu debout'' (''Standing Woman''), 1907

Public collections

Among the public collections holding works by André Derain are: * Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent, Gent * Museum de Fundatie,

Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Nazi-looted art

In 2020, a French court ordered that three paintings by Derain, ''Paysage à Cassis (ou Vue de Cassis''), ''La Chapelle-sous-Crécy'' were restituted and ''Pinède, Cassis'' should be restituted to the heirs of

René Gimpel René Albert Gimpel (4 October 1881–3 January 1945) was a French art dealer of Alsatian Jewish descent who died in 1945 in Neuengamme concentration camp, near Hamburg, Germany. Art dealer and collector Friend and patron of living artists ...

, from whom they had been looted during the Nazi occupation of France. Gimpel's family had submitted the claim in 2013. In 2023 Derain's ''Still Life With a Bottle'' was restituted to the heirs of Dane Reichsmann, who was murdered in Auschwitz with his wife.

References

External links

André Derain at the National Gallery of Art
*
Works by André Derain
(public domain in Canada)
André Derain exhibition catalogsGelett Burgess, "The Wild Men of Paris, Matisse, Picasso and Les Fauves", 1910, ''Architectural Record''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Derain, Andre 1880 births 1954 deaths 19th-century French painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists Académie Julian alumni Fauvism French male painters French sculptors French modern painters People from Chatou People of Montmartre