Fauve

[ fohv ]
/ foʊv /

noun

(sometimes lowercase) any of a group of French artists of the early 20th century whose works are characterized chiefly by the use of vivid colors in immediate juxtaposition and contours usually in marked contrast to the color of the area defined.

Origin of Fauve

1910–15; < French: wild beast, noun use of fauve wild, literally, tawny < Germanic; see fallow2

OTHER WORDS FROM Fauve

Fauv·ism, noun Fauv·ist, noun

Example sentences from the Web for fauve

  • Fauve is always used of what is dark and gloomy, just as vermeil is always applied to what is bright and pleasant.

    La Lgende des Sicles |Victor Hugo

British Dictionary definitions for fauve

Fauve
/ (French fov) /

noun

one of a group of French painters prominent from 1905, including Matisse, Vlaminck, and Derain, characterized by the use of bright colours and simplified forms

adjective

(often not capital) of this group or its style

Derived forms of Fauve

Fauvism, noun Fauvist, noun, adjective

Word Origin for Fauve

C20: from French, literally: wild beast, alluding to the violence of colours, etc