Derain, André << duh RAN, ahn DRAY >> (1880-1954), was a French artist. He and his friends Henri Matisse and Maurice de Vlaminck were leaders of the Fauves, a group of painters active in Paris in the early 1900’s. Derain’s Fauve paintings, his most significant fine art production, feature vivid colors. He often applied paint with short, broken brushstrokes. Derain’s paintings are flat in design, with little use of traditional perspective systems. Many of them show the influence of the artists Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, and Vincent van Gogh. Early in his career, Derain worked in sculpture. He also became noted for his book illustrations and for his costume and set designs for ballets and plays. He was born on July 17, 1880, in Chatou and died on Sept. 8, 1954.
