Tribute to André Derain - 145th Birthday on June 10

André Derain was born on June 10, 1880, in Chatou, a town from which many artists draw their inspiration.

André Derain both influences and is influenced by painting. He embodies the artist's ambivalence between innovation and inspiration. Throughout his career, Derain experimented with styles, mediums, and influences. He enjoyed great success in France and internationally and is considered one of the most significant artists of the interwar period. Drafted to participate in the First World War, his production came to a halt. However, thanks to Guillaume Apollinaire and his future wife, Alice Géry, Derain's first solo exhibition was held at the Paul Guillaume Gallery in 1916. This event greatly contributed to his recognition in Parisian circles.

Decisive Encounters 

A child of a wealthy background, young André began painting in high school. He decided to pursue art and enrolled at the Académie Camillo in 1898. There, he studied classical painting under Eugène Carrière, a symbolist painter.

This school was a hotbed of talent. Derain met Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Georges Rouault (1871-1958), Jean Puy (1876-1960), and Albert Marquet (1875-1947). Following this, Vlaminck and Derain met on a train, and Derain did his military service between 1901 and 1904. The two artists' fifteen-year association would be decisive in their artistic production, but also for the history of painting. They shared a studio in Chatou.

Derain and Fauvism 

In 1904, Derain enrolled at the Académie Julian. Henri Matisse encouraged Derain and Vlaminck to participate in the Salon des Indépendants in early spring, where he exhibited his famous Luxe, calme et volupté (Luxury, Calm and Voluptuousness). André Derain joined Matisse in Collioure. Together, they developed the properties of what Louis Vauxcelles would later call Fauvist painting. Vlaminck and the two painters exhibited with a group of artists in Room VII of the 1905 Salon d'Automne. 

The Drying of the Veils is one of the works exhibited by the artist in "La Cage aux Fauves" (The Fauves' Cage). 

The characteristics of Fauvism include bright, salty colors, flat tints, and a simplification of lines.

First Transition (1907-1914)  

André Derain decided to leave Chatou for Paris. In 1905, Ambroise Vollard, the renowned art dealer, had purchased all the works in his studio, allowing the painter to earn a full living from his art. He settled in Montmartre, surrounded by the Fauves and Cubists. There, he met Alice Géry, with whom he married in 1926. In 1906 and 1907, he spent several months in London, where he became interested in the primitive art previously discovered by Derain and Vlaminck, such as at the Trocadéro Museum. The impact on his style was found in the geometricization of forms and less striking colors.

This mask belonged to Maurice de Vlaminck and later to André Derain himself

The artist spent some time in the south of France and Catalonia. He participated, along with Picasso and Braque, in the development of the Cubist style.

André Derain exhibited at the famous Armory Show in New York in 1913, accompanied by Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), among others.

The First World War and the Interwar Period 

This traumatic event prompted Derain to return to his roots. He returned to a more realistic style and classical models. His work focused on still life themes such as flower bouquets and landscapes, as well as figures through portraits and nudes.

Furthermore, André Derain did not devote himself solely to painting. He also produced illustrations and set designs for plays. As early as 1919, he created mechanical puppets for Sergei Diaghilev (1872-1929), founder of the Ballets Russes. He then designed sets and costumes for other ballets, operas, and plays, particularly in the 1920s.

In the 1930s, he devoted himself primarily to illustration. He worked largely for the publications of his friend Guillaume Apollinaire. He also created ornaments for reissues of collections by Rabelais, Petronius, and Oscar Wilde.

World War II and End of Life 

When the German occupation began, Derain took refuge with Braque. The artist participated only in foreign exhibitions. He did not wish to be involved in any Vichy government affairs. However, in 1941, he participated in a trip to Germany invited by Arno Breker (1900-1991), the official sculptor of the Nazi regime. Although Derain attended this event as Ambassador of French Culture in exchange for the release of deportees and prisoners of war, this episode, organized by Joseph Goebbels, was in reality nothing more than Nazi cultural propaganda that failed to honor its commitments. André Derain was tried for collaboration and ultimately exonerated. However, this had an impact on the end of the artist's career.

He died on September 8, 1954, from injuries sustained in July 1954 when he was hit by a car. The famous artist is buried in the Chambourcy Cemetery.

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