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Tuesday 29 November 2022

Artist of the Month (1): Raoul Dufy

After publishing 100 Paintings of the Month, I am starting a slightly different series: Artist of the Month. 

Self-portrait 1899
The first artist is Raoul Dufy, (1877-1953). Born at Le Havre, France, he was noted for brightly coloured and highly decorative scenes of luxury and pleasure. He went to Paris in 1900 to attend the École des Beaux-Arts. He painted in an Impressionist style in his early work, but by 1905 he had begun to employ the broad brushstrokes and bright colours typical of the Fauve artists. They favoured painterly quality and strong colour over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism. He started to design textiles and ceramics but in the early 1920s Dufy rededicated himself to painting and began to produce what are now his best-known works. His distinctive style is characterised by bright colours thinly spread over a white ground, with objects sketchily delineated by sensuously undulating lines. Dufy took as his subjects scenes of recreation and spectacle, including horse races, regattas, parades, and concerts.  Though very popular, his lively, carefree, elegant paintings have been criticised as occasionally bordering on the superficial. They fill me with joy!

Still Life 1928

Window Opening on Nice 1928

Anemones 1953

Venice 1937

Textile Design 1920
I'm listening to Smokey Blues Away by New Generation who later became The Sullivan Brothers. Do you recognise what piece of classical music the melody is taken from? Listen here.

 




8 comments:

Hels said...

I loved the broad brushstrokes and bright colours favoured by the Fauve artists, but I don't think they received their due credit from contemporaries and I don't think our modern teaching spends enough time on Fauvism either.

Some of Derain, Delauny and Matisse's Fauvist portraits are as stunning as Dufy's.

Brenda said...

Beautiful paintings

Brenda said...

I believe it was 1968…I remember the song…as to the classical piece not right away…

bazza said...

Hels: I agree whole-heartedly with your analysis. I love the Fauves!

bazza said...

Brenda: The song is based on the very popular largo from Dvorak's "From the New World".

Brenda said...

Awwww…

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Bazza - I'd never heard of him ... but delighted to read the post and learn a little more. His art is delightful ... his self-portrait is very expressive. Those later paintings are delightful - easy on the eye ... but evoking life. I love them ... especially the 'Window Opening' ... but more the 'Anemones' - my favourite and my mother's favourite flower ...

I've just seen a second film on Hilma af Klint - I thought I'd written about the first one - which was more a documentary 'Beyond the Visible' (2019 film) ... then the recent one 'Hilma' (2022) about a group of five women, known as 'The Five' ... I now must get it up - I suspect next year.

She is now becoming better known via the Guggenheim exhibition of 2019 ... but her story is fascinating ...

Cheers - I've wittered on enough ... but at least I've found my notes on the film 'Beyond the Visible' - so thank you! Hilary

bazza said...

Hilary: My mother's favourite flowers were also anemones. As a young child I could never pronounce the word!
I got into Dufy through my sister who has his pictures all over the house (she was an art teacher).