Au Bois

Title 'Au Bois'. Lithograph, hand-signed in pencil 'Van Dongen' and numbered in pencil. Completely framed with passe-partout and glass. Cornelis Theodorus Maria 'Kees' van Dongen (1877 - 1968) was a Dutch-French painter who was one of the leading Fauves. Van Dongen's early work was influenced by the Hague School and symbolism and it evolved gradually into a rough pointillist style. He began exhibiting his work in Paris, including at the notorious 1905 exhibition at the Salon d'Automne with Henri Matisse and others. The bright colours used by this group of artists earned them the nickname Les Fauves (‘Wild Beasts’). Van Dongen was also briefly a member of the German expressionist group Die Brücke. Of the Fauves, Van Dongen himself, Henri Matisse, André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck and Albert Marquet were the leading figures. His work is characterised by primitive-looking forms and bright, unmixed colours. Van Dongen is known for his many paintings of the female nude. For him, women were ‘the most beautiful landscape’: women were his muse. Later in his career (after 1918), he concentrated on painting portraits of Parisian society. One of his best-known models was Brigitte Bardot.