Art and Poetry, Andre Derain and Wordsworth

André Derain

I came across some of this mans work while looking for paintings of rainbows. I don’t think he painted rainbows, but his work is so colourful, I thought it would be perfect. I saw the most amazing rainbow a couple of days ago, it was a double rainbow and unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me to capture it. 

 I remembered an old Poem I’ve not thought of in years, a Wordsworth poem about the rainbow. The first couple of lines go; ‘My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky’. That is exactly how I felt. So, here is the little poem by Wordsworth, some very colourful paintings by Andre Darain and some information about the artist.

André Derain (10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse.

Born in 1880 in Chatou, Yvelines, Île-de-France, just outside Paris. He met Matisse in 1898 while studying to be an engineer and taking painting classes a hobby.  It was Matisse who persuaded Derain's parents to allow him to abandon his engineering career and devote himself to painting. And the art world should be very grateful to Matisse for doing this.

Derain and Matisse worked together during the  summer of 1905 and then displayed their colourful,.  innovative paintings at the Salon d'Automne. These vivid, unnatural colors led the critic Louis Vauxcelles to describe their work as ‘les Fauves’, or "the wild beasts", marking the start of the Fauvist movement. The remark was originally meant as an insult but the term stuck and the fauvist movement was born.  

In 1906 Derain was commissioned to paint the city of London, he produced a series of cityscapes which were colourful and alive. His work was likened to Monet by some critics of the time. Some of his views of the Thames use the Pointillist technique of multiple dots, although by this time, because the dots have become much larger, it is rather more simply the separation of colours called Divisionism.
For the full write up on Derain, go here.


Information from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/André_Derain

William Wordsworth
 The Rainbow

 My heart leaps up when I behold  
A rainbow in the sky:  
So was it when life began;  
So is it now I am a man;  
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!  
The Child is father of the Man;  
I could wish my days to be  
Bound each to each by natural frivolity.

Poetry and Art, Wordsworth and Tracy Butler

Snowdrop Carpet by Tracy Butler contemporary Scottish painter

William Wordsworth


TO A SNOWDROP

LONE Flower, hemmed in with snows and white as they
But hardier far, once more I see thee bend
Thy forehead, as if fearful to offend,
Like an unbidden guest. Though day by day,
Storms, sallying from the mountain-tops, waylay
The rising sun, and on the plains descend;
Yet art thou welcome, welcome as a friend
Whose zeal outruns his promise! Blue-eyed May
Shall soon behold this border thickly set
With bright jonquils, their odours lavishing
On the soft west-wind and his frolic peers;
Nor will I then thy modest grace forget,
Chaste Snowdrop, venturous harbinger of Spring,
And pensive monitor of fleeting years!

1819.
Snowdrop Banks by John McSorely

 

delete reply sandycaar wrote on Feb 10, '10 enjoyed wordsworth's poem and esp. the first painting....

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 3, '10 brendainmad said That first painting so looks like Scotland. An error occurred in the video so will try to come back later. Thanks brenda, I found this painting almost by accident and have looked up the artist, i may do a whole blog on her at some time because I think that's a rather nice painting too, and yes.. it is typically Scottish in some ways.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Feb 3, '10 That first painting so looks like Scotland. An error occurred in the video so will try to come back later.

delete reply hedgewitch9 wrote on Feb 3, '10 Wonderful post and beautiful paintings.. Wordsworth has done the flower justice ;)

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Feb 2, '10 I completely agree with Mitchy. I have seen some snow drops here, but they are now covered in deep snow. They will be back, along with the snow bells and crocus.

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Feb 2, '10 That's nice. I really like Wordsworth. The first painting, by Tracy Butler, is beautiful.

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Feb 2, '10 :)