»Modern Art Rebel«

When Maurice de Vlaminck (1876-1958) traveled to Paris by train in 1900, his life took a decisive turn: The train derailed and de Vlaminck walked to Paris. On the way, he struck up a conversation with André Derain, who had also been on the train. Derain persuaded the young musician to become a painter too. De Vlaminck, who had received some painting lessons in his youth but never saw himself as a painter, rented a studio with Derain. Together with Henri Matisse, they developed into the main protagonists of Fauvism, with de Vlaminck being considered the wildest and most rebellious. By 1910, he was already recognized as a pioneer of modernism, even in Germany. The painter also experimented with other art movements such as Cubism, Expressionism and, in his final years, Post-Impressionism. The exhibition Maurice de Vlaminck: Modern Art Rebel at the Von der Heydt-Museum provides a detailed overview of de Vlaminck's oeuvre, which is too often reduced to his Fauvist paintings. The more than 50 paintings will be on display from February 16 to May 18.

Vincent van Gogh served as a central inspiration for de Vlaminck, whom the artist had admired since he saw van Gogh's paintings in an exhibition in 1901. Over time, de Vlaminck reduced his color palette more and more, while devoting himself increasingly to landscapes. The exhibition was created in collaboration with the Museum Barberini in Potsdam, where it was on display from September 2024 to January 2025. Lending institutions include the Art Institute of Chicago, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Tate London, the Centre Pompidou, Paris, the Musée d'art moderne Paris, the Hamburger Kunsthalle and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.