The Basket
Raoul Dufy
RAOUL DUFY, 1926. OIL ON CANVAS.
Raoul Dufy was torn between two instincts. In 1905, he saw Matisse’s Luxe, Calme et Volupté and was immediately drawn towards Fauvism, becoming part of the circle of artists that included Matisse and Cezanne. Yet Dufy’s natural skill was as a draughtsman and he was a master of fine lines and detail, something quite counter to the ethos of Fauvism’s wild colours and impressionistic contours. His illustrator nature and fauvist ideals collided with glorious results, a tension clear in his work between two styles produced subtle and evocative paintings. The wild beast of fauvism was in some way tamed under Dufy, who’s fruitful contradiction produced work across mediums, from textile pattern and stationary design to city planning and scenic design. All of these disciplines informed his painting, where he used a technical ability and deep understanding of space to create pieces that seem at once totally real and wholly grounded in the imagination.