| Maurice de Vlaminck was one of the original Fauve group, alongside Henri Matisse, André Derain, Raoul Dufy, Othon Friesz, Albert Marquet, and Charles Camoin. Vlaminck originally intended to be a professional cyclist, and it has often been noted that his landscapes are like the glimpses of a passing cyclist, crouched low over the handlebars of his bike watching the world rush by. In 1896 a bout of typhoid fever put paid to Maurice de Vlaminck?s athletic ambition. It was while on leave from his military service, on 18 June 1900, that Vlaminck had a chance encounter with André Derain on a train. The two became firm friends, and when he was demobilized Vlaminck shared Derain?s studio in an abandoned hotel-restaurant on the Ile-de-Chatou. Derain provided illustrations for Vlaminck?s early semi-autobiographical erotic novels such as D?un lit dans l?autre (From One Bed to Another). Maurice de Vlaminck continued to write as well as paint, and is one of the few to achieve real distinction in both literature and art (David Jones is another). Vlaminck's art was deeply influenced by Cézanne and Van Gogh. |
