Vertigo of Color: Matisse, Derain and the Origins of Fauvism

While staying in the small French fishing village of Collioure during the summer of 1905, Henri Matisse and André Derain began a creative partnership that would lead to a bold, new artistic movement: Fauvism. This exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York explores those pivotal months through 65 works by the two artists that demonstrate their daring experiments with colour, form and perspective (13 October–21 January 2024). Early works such as Derain’s Sailboats at Collioure (1905) and Matisse’s Open Window, Collioure (1905) show the influence of their surroundings, while intimate portraits of their partners and of one another – such as Derain’s vibrant Woman with a Shawl, Madame Matisse in a Kimono (1905) – speak to the importance of their friendship. Find out more on the Met’s website.

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Henri Matisse (1905), André Derain. Tate, London. © 2023 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris

Open Window, Collioure (1905), Henri Matisse. National Gallery of Art, Washington. © 2023 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Promenade Among the Olive Trees (Olive Trees at Collioure) (1906), Henri Matisse. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. © 2023 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Woman with a Shawl, Madame Matisse in a Kimono (1905), André Derain. Private collection. Courtesy Nevill Keating Pictures, London. © 2023 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris