HELENE BAILLY is the Parisian art gallery that exhibits works from the Fauvist movement, featuring artists such as Henri Matisse, Albert Marquet, Louis Valtat, and Kees Van Dongen.

Fauvism, which spanned from 1905 to 1908, was an avant-garde artistic movement born in Paris. In 1905, when the most talked-about artists were gathered in Room VII of the Salon d’Automne, journalist Louis Vauxcelles caused a stir by describing their canvases as an “orgy of pure tones,” and famously remarked on the presence of “Donatello among the wild beasts.” The term “Fauves” (wild beasts) came to designate works that pushed pure color to its most extreme limits.

Initially poorly received by critics, Fauvism is now considered one of the defining movements of Modern Art. Influenced by Neo-Impressionism, Matisse, the movement’s pioneer, based this new approach on the systematic separation of tones—colors were not blended. Inspired by the bold color fields of Gauguin and the intensity of Van Gogh, Fauvism pushed color contrasts to their peak, with a strong emphasis on depicting nature.

Among its leading figures were Maurice de Vlaminck, Louis Valtat, Albert Marquet, and Van Dongen—all known for their bold, unrestrained use of color. The Fauvist painters shared a common goal: to liberate color from all naturalistic constraints.