Matisse, Derain And Their Friends: The Parisian Avant-Garde 1904-1908

Exhibition at the Kunstmuseum, Basel, 2 September 2023 - 2 January 2024

Fauvism, the first avant-garde movement of the 20th century, set the tone in the artistic metropolis of Paris between 1904 and 1908. An informal group of painters around Henri Matisse, André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck embarked on a revolutionary experimentation with colour. The art critic Louis Vauxcelles called them "Fauves" in an article in 1905. It was a way of highlighting the break they made with academic conventions. Georges Braque, Raoul Dufy and Kees van Dongen, among others, joined the movement, whose influence was felt for a long time to come.

This exhibition catalogue challenges the conventional view of Fauvism, which had a major impact on the modern era, and focuses on its female protagonists, notably Émilie Charmy, Marie Laurencin and, in a novel way, gallery owner Berthe Weill.