Unmixed colors, vehement brushwork, abstracted forms: in the early twentieth century, a group of artists shocked the public with paintings that radically diverged from accepted artistic norms. Described as “fauves” or “wild beasts,” these artists—in particular Maurice de Vlaminck (1876–1958)—paved the way for modern art. Initially celebrated as a pioneer of French Expressionism, Vlaminck’s last retrospective in Germany took place almost a century ago. With seventy-three works, Maurice de Vlaminck: Modern Art Rebel presents an overview of Vlaminck’s entire painterly oeuvre, from his Fauvist pictures, to his experiments with Cubism, to his little-known late work.

In conversation with art historians, this video introduces the theme of the exhibition. With Matthias Krüger (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München), Roland Mönig (Von der Heydt-Museum Wuppertal), Anna Storm (Von der Heydt-Museum Wuppertal), Heinz Widauer (Art Historian, Vienna), Daniel Zamani (Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden).