DUFY Raoul
French ( 1877 - 1953 )
Many think of seaside paintings, streets with flags and scenes of anonymous figures walking down the streets when there is a mention of Raoul Dufy. His seascapes are often an emerald green with patches of white, black and red depicting sailboats and people. Many of his works as embodying a sense of gentle gaiety and ephemerality. Dufy did several paintings of avenues in Le Havre where he was born, strewn with flags commemorating Bastille Day. Unlike Van Dongen, Derain and Vlaminck, Dufy encountered much animosity upon meeting with the Fauves. In fact, the only way Berthe Weill, the principal sponsor of the Fauve artists, could get Dufy's works to be exhibited along with the other Fauve artists was to show his works in a different room. Dufy was not fully accepted into the circle until the Salon d'Automne exhibition in 1907. He was forced throughout his life to take on odd jobs here and there to make a living, such as driving a van for the military postal service Dufy travelled often and was exposed to the many works of other artists. Many admire his talent for depicting architecture so eloquently through his use of color. This is especially the case in his work Le Trouville.