André Derain
A painting by André Derain, the great master of painting, depicting bathers in a wooded landscape. A canvas of reduced chromaticism and synthesized forms.
The painter’s free, strong, sure touch is evident.
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 24 x 33 cm
With frame: 41.5 x 49.5 cm
Certificate: Geneviève Taillade in agreement with the Derain Committee
Price: 25,000 euros
“There is more mystery in a black than in a triangle or an organized figure” A. Derain
André Derain, a major figure in modern art
André Derain was a painter with a temperament that was both daring and disciplined. He participated in two major avant-gardes of the 20th century: Fauvism, of which he was one of the founders with Matisse, and Cubism. Like all the great masters, Derain was constantly on the lookout for new harmonies.
In our painting, sketched nude bathers evolve in a wooded landscape; an idyllic nature, a picnic suggested by a few brushstrokes. The painter goes straight to the point, capturing the essence of movement. The scenography of light is served by a simplified brushstroke whose flesh tones are enhanced by the artist’s ample gestures.
A bold take on a classic
André Derain was a contradictory being, a painter with a temperament both daring and disciplined, trained in the classics which he studied passionately, but close to avant-garde movements.
Here, the painter plays with his classical culture. The colors, the “bathers” theme, The light is reminiscent of earlier paintings. Our painting is in keeping with the artist’s predominantly dark tonal orientation.
He is making a return to classicism, while combining a great modernity in his gestural touch.
A reminder of Edouard Manet’s “Le déjeuner sur l’herbe” (Lunch on the Grass)
The composition of our painting can be compared to Edouard Manet’s famous painting “Le déjeuner sur l’herbe”, originally entitled “Le bain”. The wooded landscape, the convivial atmosphere of a picnic, the chiaroscuro, the gap between the trees revealing a bather, the picnic on the ground, the use of blacks, the bold brushstrokes and the play of light and shadow create a lively atmosphere.
