Fauvism was a short-lived art movement associated with the Ecole de Paris around the turn of the 19th century. It is considered the first Expressionist movement.

Famous above all for their bold use of color, the 'Fauves' received their name at the 1905 Salon d'Automne exhibition in Paris, from the influential French art critic Louis Vauxcelles, who insultingly described their vividly coloured canvases as being the work of wild beasts (in French, fauves), and the name stuck. 

Definition adapted from Cork Visual Arts Encyclopedia, July 29, 2016.