French1885–1941
Robert Delaunay
A French painter who, with Sonia Delaunay, developed Orphism: paintings of circling rings of pure colour. His ideas about light influenced Klee, Macke and Marc.
A life in paintings
- 1885Born
- 1907Cubism begins
In Paris, Picasso and Braque start breaking objects into geometric planes.
- 1911The first Blaue Reiter exhibition
Kandinsky and Marc open their exhibition in Munich, arguing that colour can express the spiritual.
- 1912Influenced August MackeParis
Macke (with Marc) visited Delaunay in Paris in 1912; Delaunay's Orphist colour shaped Macke's late style, including the Tunisian works.
Source: WikipediaInfluenced Paul KleeParisKlee visited Delaunay's Paris studio in 1912 with an introduction from Kandinsky and translated Delaunay's essay 'On Light' into German for Der Sturm (1913). Delaunay's colour theory also influenced Marc and Macke.
Source: Wikipedia - 1914
- 1941Died
Circles
Group · Munich · 1911
Der Blaue Reiter
Named after the almanac Kandinsky and Marc edited. First exhibition Dec 1911 at Thannhauser, Munich: 43 works by 14 artists, including Delaunay and Henri Rousseau. Ended with the war (Macke killed 1914, Marc 1916).
Society · Paris · 1884
Société des Artistes Indépendants
Jury-free annual salon founded 1884 by Seurat, Signac, Dubois-Pillet, Redon and others. Home of Neo-Impressionism; Henri Rousseau first showed there in 1886.
- Fernand Léger
- Georges Seurat
- Henri Matisse
- Henri Rousseau
- Henri-Edmond Cross
- Maximilien Luce
- Paul Signac
- Vincent van Gogh
Where to see them
National Gallery of Art
Washington, D.C.
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