TRUTH | Fauvism
"Fauvism was our ordeal by fire... colours became charges of dynamite. They were expected to charge light... The great merit of this method was to free the picture from all imitative and conventional contact." -Andre Derain
The important thing to note first is that this movement immediately followed impressionism. By the time this movement was manifesting, the camera had been slowly growing in popularity, and slowly replacing artists' jobs. Cameras were much quicker, more affordable and accurate, so lower class people could participate in documenting stories, families, etc. just like wealthy people. As a result, artists were forced to rethink their function and find a way to differentiate from the camera. In other words, camera's can only do one thing, whereas artists can create a million different outcomes between with their brush, medium(s) and mind. This reaction ultimately lead to creative liberation leading to many more concepts and art movements. Each movement lead way and inspired an entirely new movement, so on and so forth.
While this painting may appear rather basic (comparatively speaking), it satisfies one's simple need to see Him. In fact, I chose to include this movement in the series because of its straight forward, simplified nature. These qualities also represent a side of Jesus. Although he had miraculous power, he was also a humble, Down-To-Earth man who directly helped everyone. His message was never complicated, as we see in this movement. The "details" of his mission were not as important as the point He was trying to make; Love is the way.
Like this art style, Christ also was direct with people. He got straight to the point and made things so much less complicated than how we humans think through things. This particular style is much less serious as a whole. It evokes emotions with colors rather than perfectly rendered details. It is still indeed art; only new and some folks couldn't wrap their minds around it yet. Jesus's radical deep love was new to so many people and that was alarming for some.
Another similarity is that this movement was frowned upon when it initially came out. Most people couldn't understand what the artists were doing. They went from painting highly realistically to impressionism, to this "nonsense". Both critics and society at the time, just couldn't process what they were seeing and often thought it was a childish movement. Jesus, too, faced lots of skepticism and criticism, as well. Lots of egoic people thought they already knew everything, who was and wasn't righteous, therefore, questioned Jesus. Priests and society constantly tried to outsmart Jesus and set him up in a corner, however, Christ's epic response's were always lead with grace and love. So both Christ and this art movement were heavily challenged by stubborn people who thought they knew everything and failed to open their minds.
ART HISTORY NOTE: This micro-movement started approximately in 1904 and lasted till about 1908 (and then some). The term Fauvism translates to "wild beasts". The Fauves were characterized by seemingly wild brushstrokes and strident colors straight from the tube, while their subject matter had a high degree of simplification and abstraction. Art critics thought artists were intentionally joking about their art and being childish. The reason critics and consumers were so appalled was due to the "dramatic" shift away from realism. Looking back we can see these new images and concepts take time for people to adapt and embrace.