2D Art III Assignment: Fauvist Portrait

In this assignment, you will be creating a "Fauvist Portrait" in oil pastel, on 16" x 20" drawing paper, working from photo reference. (You may shoot your own reference photo, or we can do it in class.)

Les Fauves (French for The Wild Beasts) were a short-lived and loose grouping of early 20th century Modern artists whose works emphasized exaggerated color, as well as simplified use of line, shape, and form. An art critic gave this group their name-- it was not a compliment!

Fauvism was the first of the major avant-garde movements in European 20th century art. While this art was initially considered to be shocking, it was to become extremely influential in the evolution of 20th century art.

The leaders of the movement were Henri Matisse and André Derain. We will also look at some work by Amedeo Modigliani; although he is generally classified as an expressionist painter, some of his work has a look that is similar to that of the Fauves.

To start with, we will look at a few Fauvist paintings that are not portraits, just to give you more of an idea of what the art of the Fauves looked like. Then, we will look at several portraits.

Derain, Mountains at Collioure, 1905


Derain, Charing Cross Bridge, 1906


Matisse, Open Window, 1905


Matisse, Madame Matisse, "The Green Line", 1905


Matisse, Self-Portrait in a Striped Shirt, 1906


Matisse, Woman with Hat, 1905


Matisse, Portrait of André Derain, 1905


Modigliani, Woman with Hat, 1908


Modigliani, Head of a Young Woman, 1908

Examples of student work from AAW 2D Art III in previous years:


Leah Garvin, Self-Portrait, 2004


Aaron Mickens, Self-Portrait, 2005