Andre Derain

1880-1954

Andre Derain was a French artist who co-founded the Fauvist Movement with Henri Matisse. You can learn more about Fauvism here.

Derain painted lots of landscapes and figure in brilliant, bold and sometimes pure colour, using broken brushstrokes and impulsive lines.

After the great financial success of Claude Monet's views of the Thames, André Derain's dealer, Ambroise Vollard, convinced Derain to paint London. During two trips to England in 1905 and 1906, Derain made sketches on the spot. When he returned to Paris, Derain created thirty paintings of London in his studio.

Look at the paintings below.

Can you recognise any of the landmarks of London?

Art Activity:

1. Think of your favourite area in London

2. Create a series of paintings of this area

3. Use bright colours to create your painting.

Remember, the Fauvists used random colours so get experimental. A tree could be purple or pink, the sky could be yellow and buildings could be green.

Take a look at the work of Oliver Yu Chan, who is an artist based in North London. He paints lots of the areas of London and uses bright and bold colour to create his masterpieces: