The Trees 1906

Andre Derain painted "The Trees" with oil on canvas sometime in the early 1900s. The vivid color and simplified forms place this work within the Fauvist movement in France. The Fauves—or “wild beasts”—shocked the establishment with their bold distortions of observed reality. The trees are rendered in blocks of bright red, blue, and green, challenging academic traditions that valued accurate representation. Derain and other Fauvist artists were part of a larger cultural shift that questioned the role of art and its institutions. They embraced subjective expression and celebrated the primitive. They were interested in the social role of art, turning away from conventional subject matter to focus on pure color and form as a means of communication. To understand Derain fully, we might consult exhibition reviews from the time, tracing the critical responses to Fauvism. This reminds us that art is always shaped by its social context.