"I try to paint with my heart and my loins, not bothering
with style"
He
was born to a Flemish father. His parents, who were bohemian musicians,
moved to the Paris area when he was only three years old. He showed
only a slight interest in his studies, beginning the journey of
autodidactism that characterized his relations with painting.
As an adolescent, Vlaminck planned to make a career as a professional
cyclist.
Like his parents, he also had musical talent
and earned a living thought the violin. Vlaminck had a passionate
interest in painting which was fostered by Robichon, a French
artist. In 1894 he married Suzanne Berly, but contracted typhoid
fever which ended his racing career in 1896. Obliged to support
his family, he gave violin lessons and eventually joined the military.
It was during one of his military leaves at Chatou when he met
André Derain on June 1900, which was the meeting that began the
school of Chatou and ultimately the birth of Fauve Art.
At the Salon d'Automne of 1905 Vlaminck exhibited
in the same room as the other fauves. He had a love for pure color
and became, with Matisse and Derain, the leading exponent of fauvism,
often using the paint straight from the tube in vigorous compositions.
It was after this exposition that his financial situation began
to gradually improve.
His first one-artist exhibition took place at
the Vollard Gallery in 1907. He mostly painted landscapes and
from 1908 his palette darkened and later was mildly influenced
by cubism. He also wrote novels, memoirs and collected African
art. He also published a few novels for which Derain made illustrations
and even wrote some poetry.
Immediately following World War I, he retired
to the country, where he had always wanted to live because of
his love for nature.
He continued to travel with Derain during the
later years of his life and published dozens of autobiographical
accounts of his life and his experiences with other artists.
He died in 1958 at Rueil-la-Gadelière
