André Derain (1880 –1954) was a French artist, painter,
sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse.
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| Self portrait |
Derain and Matisse worked together through the summer of
1905 in the Mediterranean village of Collioure and later that year displayed
their highly innovative paintings at the Salon d'Automne. The vivid, unnatural
colors led the critic Louis Vauxcelles to derisively dub their works as les
Fauves, or "the wild beasts", marking the start of the Fauvist movement.
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| André Derain, 1952 |
During the German occupation of France in World War II,
Derain lived primarily in Paris and was much courted by the Germans because he
represented the prestige of French culture. Derain accepted an invitation to
make an official visit to Germany in 1941 and travelled with other French
artists to Berlin to attend a Nazi exhibition of an officially endorsed artist,
Arno Breker.
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| Boby au béret |
Derain's presence in Germany was used effectively by Nazi
propaganda, and after the Liberation he was branded a collaborator and
ostracized by many former supporters.
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