Fauvism, from the french term wild beasts, was a short lived romp of bold, saturated colors with an emphasis on an abstract and simple style of painting. Where impressionism retained some realistic qualities and traditional artistic values, Fauvism smeared this over with bright streak of paint, creating the first true break with artistic traditions of the past. Because of this philosophy, Fauvism can be seen as an off-shoot of expressionism, but is really in a category all of it's own. It was a short lived art movement that really only lasted about three years. The leader of this wild and rapid movement would be Henri Matisse.

Matisse would much later be hailed as the greatest artist of the 20th century, along with Picasso. But during the Wild Beast days of the early 1900's he was seen as an artistic madman. In 1907 a group gathered to burn one of Matisse's paintings, Nu Bleu which was seen as very controversial. While a Matisse painting today can fetch $17 million, he could barely feed his family while he was creating those very masterpieces.

Maurice De Vlaminck was the artist other than Matisse most closely affiliated with this movement. Both he and Matisse studied under the same teacher and both were very inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's post impressionism. Vlaminck, after visiting a Van Gogh exhibit for the first time, claimed he loved the artist more than his own Father. He then began painting by squeezing paint from the tube directly to the canvas.

The first fauvist exhibition took place in 1905. Attendees of the annual Salone de Automne were shocked to find canvases of violent color and abstractions. This exhibit is where the term Fauvist originated, as the painters obviously painted wildly with a lack of formal discipline. This term would be printed, thus cementing the name for this art movement. While this press was not good and it didn't help the artists, art collector Gertrude Stein would later buy Matisse's paintings, catapulting him into proper fame in the art world

The River Seine at Chatou, painting by Maurice de Vlaminck	Nu Bleu, Blue Nude (Souvenir de Biskra), painting by Henri Matisse
L'Atelier Rouge, painting by Henri Matisse	Charing Cross Bridge, London, painting by André Derain

While the short lived movement of fauvism was once thought of as a minor blip in art history, today we see it as having paved the way for modern expressionism, cubism and many more schools of art. It truly exploded, pushing art into the 20th century, liberating painting from the Renaissance-era traditional expectations.

A fauvism painting is a lively, colorful and emotive touch to any home. The beauty of these paintings is that they are so aesthetically versatile. The work of Matisse is at once formal and yet relaxed. Colorful and child-like yet elegant and almost understated. This means that a fauvism piece is one that could hang in any room of your home, from a large scale painting above your fireplace to a smaller painting hanging in your bathroom. These are pieces that are very rich in history and renowned the world over as some of arts greatest, changing the discipline forever. Because these pieces are so versatile and loved and acknowledged by art-lovers the world over, fauvism paintings make the perfect gift to any art lover in your life.