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Born
on June 10, 1880 in Chatou, France, Andre Derain's
family initially intended for him to be an engineer.
However, he began painting at fifteen to become
one of the more prolific fauve artists. Derain's
passion for art was apparent at an early age
and he even once admitted to being obsessed
with the Louvre. He met Henri Matisse early
on in his career and then Vlaminck in 1900,
a meeting which many art historians consider
the birth of Fauve art. Derain and Vlaminck
were good friends and exchanged artistic and
literary ideas.
They often painted together. Derain's paintings
are very ecclectic and one can trace his various
stages of experimentation. His more famous piece,
La Danse, was influenced by Gauguin as seen
in Derain's use of earth tones. Other works
such as his series in London and sailboats were
more reminiscent of impressionism.
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