COLOUR THEORY
or actual – perspective. In the work of
many of the Fauvist painters, objects
and even people were drawn with
simple brush outlines of a colour
suitable to the image and its shape.
Black was often used. Some Fauvist
paintings even reveal strong shapes
without the use of outlines. The
colour of the shape presents the
object’s simplicity and clarity. The
result of these approaches to drawing
and shapes often produced a
flattened image with little pictorial
depth (though depth might be
implied). Because so much in these
paintings depended on the strength
of the shapes, patterns and flat
colours, it meant that the
arrangement of objects within the
pictorial frame was as important
as ever. In Fauvist painting, a good
composition moved the eye around
and through the pictorial arrangement
on the canvas’s surface. It was during
this time period that the concept of
the “picture plane” came into
common usage. The picture plane is a
surface for the description of shapes,
patterns, lines and colours that are
essentially flat. One facet of Fauvist
painting is expressive brushwork.
Alongside flat patterns and shapes
is a vigorous use of the loaded paint
brush. For a contemporary painter
exploring the Fauvist approach, rich
brushwork can be considered part of
the overall drawing and expression of
the work. There is no timidity in the
brush calligraphy of the early Fauves.
A final focus for Fauvist-style
painting is the use and interpretation
of colours. This includes both the
tube colours placed on their palettes,
as well as the visual interpretation
and mixing of colours they saw in
nature. Most Fauvist palettes
included both the earth colours, such
as Burnt Sienna and Yellow Ochre,
as well as bright, highly chromatic
colours, like the various Cadmium
colours. Some paintings, like those
of Matisse, regularly included earth
colours along with the bright colours.
Others, like some of Derain’s
compositions, were frequently madefrom just the highly chromatic
colours. White was included
throughout as needed.
Fauvist painters often reduced
what they saw in nature or a studio
arrangement to the simplest, most
direct colours possible. If something
had a yellowish quality, they made
it simply bright yellow. No careful
modulation of neutrals or complex
mixing of colours occurred, it was
just a matter of selecting which
pure yellow to use.
The same was true of all the other
colour choices. Pure colours right out
of the tube, maybe with white mixed
in, were used for each object, tree,
face, and so on. If a tree has a pinkish
tinge in the colour of the bark, a
Fauvist painter might simply make
it pink. Freedom of interpretation
is a maxim of Fauvist painting. It’s not
what the object should be, but rather
what the painter sees it to be in their
imagination. The overall harmony of
colour in a Fauvist work is also very
important.
In summary, any artist wishing to
emulate the Fauvist approach should
settle upon a simple, everyday
subject that they enjoy painting, draw
it in a way that captures the simplest
qualities of shape and design, and
colour it in a way that encourages
a subjective vision of the subject.
Al’s book, Color for Painters, is published
by Watson-Guptill. http://www.algury.comHumbert L
Howard, The Yellow
Cup, 1949-’50,
oil on canvas,
61x81.6cm
Howard was very
interested in the
Matisse-like use of
flat, almost collage-
like colour shapes.
Artists & Illustrators 77