Village, ca. 1908
Gouache, watercolor, and ink on paper, mounted on canvas
Maurice de Vlaminck
French, 1876-1958
Rendered in bright colors and flat planes, Village by Maurice de Vlaminck depicts red-roofed houses within the green and yellow landscape of the French countryside. The Fauves (French for “wild beasts”) were a group of artists led by Henri Matisse, André Derain, and Maurice de Vlaminck who were active in France from about 1904-1908. Their paintings emphasized intense, unnatural colors and fierce brushwork, a style that was highly controversial when first displayed in the 1905 Salon d’Automne. Vlaminck’s particular brand of Fauvism incorporated heavy, dark outlining of brightly colored forms, evident in Village.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. R.A. Young, 2002
Visual Description: This is a painting of a small village set against a French landscape. De Vlaminck used bright colors here, giving only suggestions of buildings and scenery with his brushstrokes. A dirt road bisects the canvas and white houses with terracotta red roofs line the road on either side. Blotches of yellow, black, white, and green give the semblance of greenery amidst the landscape. In the distance, de Vlaminck uses slashes of navy and light blue to represent a river, or perhaps the ocean, set against a stormy sky. The houses, road, and parts of the countryside are outlined with heavy, black brushstrokes.
