André Derain

André Derain was a French painter and a founder of Fauvism, the short-lived movement famous for shockingly bright, unnatural color. Born near Paris in 1880, he worked closely with Henri Matisse in the early 1900s, and together they painted landscapes in blazing reds, greens, and blues that made critics compare them to wild beasts, which is where the name Fauvism comes from.

His views of London and the south of France from those years are among the boldest color experiments in art. Later Derain pulled back toward a more traditional, classical style, which disappointed some admirers who wanted him to keep pushing. His reputation suffered after he accepted an invitation to visit Germany during the Second World War, though his early Fauvist canvases remain landmarks of modern painting.