Raoul Dufy
Born – Le Havre, France 1877
Died – Forcalquier, France 1953
Raoul Dufy studied in Le Havre, where his early worked showed the influence of Impressionism. He moved to Paris in 1900 where he met Georges Braque and Henri Matisse. Matisse’s painting Luxe, Calme, at Volupté had a great impact on Dufy who regarded it as “a miracle of the creative imagination at play in colour and line”. Adopting the newly formed ideas of Fauvism, Dufy started to produce paintings with strong colour and heavy black outlines. He only exhibited with the Fauves twice – in 1906 and 1907. In 1908 he worked with Braque, before turning to themes that showed upper-class life. After 1920, Dufy’s work is characterized by joyous scenes of racecourses, regattas and esplanades, typified by The Pier and Promenade at Nice. Painted in vibrant colours, these works are distinguished by their lively, frivolous, decorative style and their rapid, calligraphic brush strokes. Dufy also designed textiles and ceramics. He was essentially a light-hearted artist who never dwelt on the sad or unseemly side of life.
Masterpieces:
- Placards at Trouville
- The Artist and his Model in the Studio at Le Havre.
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson