Louis Vauxcelles

Louis Vauxcelles (1870-1943) was an influential French art critic. To him are attributed the terms "Fauvism" (1905), and "Cubism" (1908). Vauxcelles coined the phrase 'les fauves' (translated as 'wild beasts') to describe a circle of painters associated with Matisse as well as the audiences who criticised them (he couldn't decide which were more arrogant).

He first used the term "cubism" or "bizarre cubiques" in 1908 after seeing a picture by Braque. He described it as 'full of little cubes', after which the term quickly gained wide use although the two creators of the new style, Braque and Picasso, did not initially adopt it.

In 1911 he coined the less well-known term "Tubism" in describing the style of Fernand Léger. [Néret, 1993, p. 42]

Notes and references

*Néret, Gilles (1993). "F. Léger". New York: BDD Illustrated Books. ISBN 0-7924-5848-6