In 1908, art critic Louis Vauxcelles described the Dutch French painter Kees van Dongen (1877–1968) as “one of the most terrifying Fauves.” Vauxcelles had coined the term “les Fauves” in 1905, referring to a trend that emerged at the Salon d’Automne that would coalesce into a movement marked by vivid, unnaturalistic colors and loose, expressive brushwork. Van Dongen proved a pivotal figure within the development of Fauvism, noted for his unapologetically experimental approach to color and figuration.

In Paris at Helene Bailly Marcilhac, a monographic show dedicated to Van Dongen revisits the work of this singular 20th-century artist.

Installation view of “Kees van Dongen” (2026). Photo: Gregory Copitet. Courtesy of Helene Bailly Marcilhac.

Originally from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Van Dongen studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Rotterdam, and in the late 1890s, he spent several months in Paris immersed in the creative émigré community, and ultimately began exhibiting in the City of Light, including at the notorious Salon d’Automne alongside the likes of Henri Matisse, Albert Marquet, and Charles Camoin. Designated the Fauves, meaning “Wild Beasts,” the bold color palettes and lively execution of scenes and figures was a stark departure from traditional Academic painting.

Van Dongen also garnered a reputation specifically for his portraiture, influenced by not only Fauvist sensibilities but the fashions and styles of the time. Dramatizing his sitter’s figures and accoutrement like jewels and clothing, his portraits were highly sought after and continue to be recognized today for their dynamic value.

Kees van Dongen, Titine et Toto (1920). Photo: Gregory Copitet. Courtesy of Helene Bailly Marcilhac.

Within the solo show at Helene Bailly Marcilhac, the full breadth of the artist’s unique approach to portraiture as well as still life, landscape, and genre painting is explored. Early works like the Modjesko soprano singer (1907) strongly foreground hue and brushwork over representation, exemplary of Fauvist ideals. Dated to more than a decade later, Titine et Toto (1920), the artist’s palette is decidedly more subdued, but the rendering of the two children is no less vivid and stylized, evoking an almost playful, impish atmosphere. Examples from late in his career, the still life Bouquet de fleurs (1950) and genre scene Courses à Deauville (1953) highlights the height of Van Dongen’s artistic powers, featuring nuanced but no less vibrant deployment of color and expressive brushwork that recalls the achievements of Impressionism from the generations that preceded him.

Installation view of “Kees van Dongen” (2026). Photo: Gregory Copitet. Courtesy of Kees van Dongen.

Visually tracing Van Dongen’s life and practice through the show, what becomes most evident is the artist’s unabated fearlessness in experimentation, unbeholden to external trends or expectations. Instead, his allegiance was to his practice itself and exploring the furthest bounds of his abilities, wherever that took him. Now, in retrospect, his oeuvre is a testament to an era of rapid and pervasive artistic change, and the capacity for painting to convey the psychological underpinnings of one of art history’s most influential movements.

“Kees van Dongen”  is on view at Helene Bailly Marcilhac, Paris, through May 31, 2026.