Provenance
Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Paris, probably acquired directly from the artist, by 1912 [London 1912; letter from Galerie Louise Leiris, Sept. 4, 1976, copy in curatorial file]; sold to Arthur Jerome Eddy (1859–1920), Chicago, Mar. 2, 1913 [Brown 1988]; by descent to his wife Lucy O. Eddy (1863-1931) and son Jerome O. Eddy (1891-1951), Chicago, 1920; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1931.
Accession Number
8975
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
81.3 × 100.3 cm (32 × 39 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Arthur Jerome Eddy Memorial Collection
Background & Context
Background Story
André Derain's "Forest at Martigues" (1908) is an oil on canvas from the transitional period when Derain was moving from Fauvism toward a more structured style influenced by Cézanne and early Cubism. Martigues is a small town in Provence, sometimes called the "Venice of Provence" for its canals. Derain had painted there with the Fauvist palette in 1905, but by 1908 his approach had changed dramatically. The forest scene is built from simplified, geometric forms—the trees become cylinders, the foliage masses into spheres, the ground is tilted forward in a way that flattens the picture plane. The Fauvist colors are still present but are now subordinated to structural concerns. This painting reflects Derain's engagement with Cézanne's dictum that nature should be "treated by the cylinder, the sphere, the cone." It represents a crucial moment in Derain's development, when the lessons of Fauvism were being integrated with a new interest in pictorial structure.
Cultural Impact
Derain's 1908 landscapes mark a pivotal moment in early modernism, showing an artist who had been at the forefront of Fauvism grappling with the structural innovations of Cézanne and the emerging Cubist movement.
Why It Matters
This painting captures Derain at a crossroads, his Fauvist palette tempered by a new commitment to pictorial structure, creating a work that bridges the two defining movements of early 20th-century French painting.
