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Fauve

[fohv]
noun
  1. (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.
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Origin of Fauve

1910–15; < French: wild beast, noun use of fauve wild, literally, tawny < Germanic; see fallow2
Related formsFauv·ism, nounFauv·ist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fauve

Historical Examples

  • 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

noun
  1. 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
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adjective
  1. (often not capital) of this group or its style
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Derived FormsFauvism, nounFauvist, noun, adjective

Word Origin

C20: from French, literally: wild beast, alluding to the violence of colours, etc
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012