Kees Van Dongen: From Fauvism to Les Années folles

In the years following Van Dongen’s move to Paris in October 1899, he made a name for himself by selling illustrations to satirical magazines and newspapers. The social criticism in these works was often inspired by the streets of Paris and its impoverished citizens.

Painting eventually became central to Van Dongen’s artistic production, and his work from around 1903 reveals a clear interest in Neo-Impressionism. It demonstrates a deep understanding of divisionism (a technique in which the artist applies individual brushstrokes of unblended colors), an expansion of his palette to a series of base colors that heralded his later Fauvist work, and a tendency to make liberal interpretations of restrained motifs. It was this boldness that caught the attention of critics when he participated in the Salon des Indépendants and Salon d’Automne in 1905. Affronted by the audacity of Van Dongen and the other young painters who exhibited at these exhibitions, one critic disparaged the artists as fauves, or “wild beasts,” giving a name to the movement: Fauvism.

Unlike many of his Fauvist contemporaries, Van Dongen did not abandon the use of vivid colors after 1905, instead emphasizing striking contrasts between various hues. He left divisionism behind in favor of large blocks of color and dedicated himself to painting portraits and nudes with female models. During this period, he also painted his wife Guus and daughter Dolly with particular affection.

Bolstered by his success at the Paris salons, Van Dongen made a name for himself across France in the years leading up to World War I. As his fame expanded even beyond the country’s borders, he was able to move into larger apartments in 1909 and 1912 and became friendly with the Tout-Paris, members of the Parisian elite.

More than ever, his production during this period was focused on women. Van Dongen frequently painted his family and friends and those who attended the evening social gatherings that he frequented, as well as unknown models from among the cultured bourgeoisie. He emphasized the modern, liberated qualities of these women, presenting them as more than just victims of society. Rouged faces and feminine bodies—whether in fashionable dress or in the nude—occupy the center of his compositions, illuminated by bright electric lights. The theme continues in the art that Van Dongen created during his travels around Spain and North Africa between 1910 and 1913. Then, too, he was dedicated to the female subject, painting Mediterranean women dressed in distinctive outfits and in various landscapes. Parisian scenes, as well as its gardens and forests, also show up as recurring motifs, testifying to Van Dongen’s affection for the French capital, his chosen home.

After World War I, France was caught up in a wave of euphoria and freedom. An exciting era of culture and festivity prevailed in Paris, especially in the Montparnasse neighborhood. Van Dongen’s fame reached its zenith during this period, which is known in France as the Années Folles, or “crazy years,” but which came to a close when the Great Depression hit the United States in 1929 and then Europe in 1931. During the 1920s, the bulk of the artist’s work consisted of portraits of the new Parisian elite and scenes of the city and its environs, as well as retreats favored by the upper classes, such as Deauville and Cannes.

Van Dongen visited Venice in 1921 and brought home a series of works that focused on the city’s iconic architecture, as well as images of the squares and cafés frequented by elegant socialites.

He also received a number of commissions during this period. He completed illustrations for Les plus beaux contes de Kipling (The most beautiful tales of Kipling), a 1920 short story collection for which he allowed his imagination to explore enticing Asian landscapes, and the Deauville suite in 1930, which depicted banquets, cafés, horse races, and bathers enjoying the beaches of Normandy.

Despite the diversity of Van Dongen’s motifs, the presence of women—incorporated into landscapes and occupying living spaces and festive scenes—is a constant. He returned to this theme more than any other, painting his subjects the way he saw them: graceful and slender, with poses, clothing, jewelry, and hairstyles that embodied a modern, liberated understanding of femininity. Van Dongen’s strong belief in the honesty of what he portrayed belies the fictional nature of these works.