André Derain

(André Derain; June 10, 1880, Chatou-sur-Seine – September 8, 1954, Garches) was born on June 10, 1880, in Chatou-sur-Seine, a northeastern suburb of Paris. After finishing school, he enrolled in the Paris engineering college but skipped classes to spend time in the Louvre, where he met Henri Matisse and Albert Marquet. Together, they attended the private art school of Eugène Carrière from 1898 to 1899. In 1900, he met Maurice de Vlaminck, with whom he formed a long-lasting friendship.

The Beginning of His Career

After serving in the army from 1900 to 1904, the artist spent two years (1905–1906) in Great Britain, where he created views of Hyde Park and the Thames embankments. These landscapes, executed in the spirit of Fauvism, are imbued with an effort to convey the tension of nature. The decorative effect of his paintings is based on the intense resonance of large patches of pure contrasting colors ("London Harbor," 1906, Tate Gallery, London). Derain's paintings immediately attracted public attention at the 1905 Autumn Salon.

In 1906, he met Pablo Picasso and came under the influence of Cubism. Over time, this allowed him to become financially independent and marry Alice Princet. However, many of the paintings created during this period were later burned by Derain himself. In the 1910s, gloominess and static imagery began to appear in his work, featuring themes of monotonous provincial life.

Personal Life

By the start of World War I, he settled in Avignon. He went to the front as a common soldier but continued painting and organized his first solo exhibition in 1916. After the war, he moved to Paris, improved his financial situation, bought a car, and collected works of art, including drawings by Ingres and Seurat. In 1928, he received the Carnegie Prize and began exhibiting in England, Germany, and the United States. In the 1930s, he sold all his property in Paris and moved to Chambourcy, leaving only a studio in the capital for meetings with mistresses, one of whom bore him a son.

During the German occupation of France during World War II, Derain lived mainly in Paris, and the Germans actively sought his favor because he represented the prestige of French culture. In 1941, Derain accepted an invitation for an official visit to Germany and traveled to Berlin with other French artists to attend a Nazi-approved exhibition of Arno Breker’s work. Derain's presence in Germany was effectively used for Nazi propaganda, which led to him being labeled a collaborator after France's liberation and ostracized by many former supporters.

Death

André Derain died under the wheels of a car on September 8, 1954, at the age of 74. A year earlier, in 1953, an eye infection left him with no chance of regaining his sight.

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