ART NEWS

Year 10 Studio Arts

Students worked in the Fauves style to create an expressionist self-portrait. Working from a photograph they covered the history of the period learning about this colourful and expressive style of painting, then interpreted this to create a unique artwork. Such a short-lived period in art of only four or five years in the early 1900’s, made such an impact on subsequent art movements. Fauvist artists were initially ridiculed and called Les Fauves, meaning “the savages” or “the wild beasts” for their unrealistic and extreme use of colour. Characteristic elements of Fauvist Painting were: 

• Vibrant colors that express feelings, which are not faithful to reality but are faithful to what the artist feels
• Emotive distortion
• Predominant feeling: the joy of living
• Violent color contrasts
• Energetic brushstrokes
• Simple drawing
• Flat figures
• Delineated contours