A group of artists known as "The Wild Beasts," or Les Fauvres, in French, took the art world by storm at the beginning of the twentieth century. Though the art movement only lasted three short years, Fauvism has has a huge influence on modern art.

Of the artists associated with the Fauvist movement, Henri Matisse is the most well known today. Like the other Fauvists, Matisse often painted with very bright, unrealistic colors. This was a major departure from the work of the impressionists like Claude Monet, as the impressionist artists still painted realistic scenes and used natural colors. Other artists associated with the Fauvist movement include French painter Andre Derain, and cubist painter Georges Braques.

Les Fauvres acquired their name at the 1905 Autumn Salon in Paris. An art critic who was particularly shocked when he saw the wild brush strokes, garish colors, and abstraction of these paintings exclaimed, "Donatello among the wild beasts!" This comment was printed in the newspaper the next day, and the name caught on.

Henri Matisse, Woman with a Hat, 1905.

The painting at the Autumn Salon that the critics attacked most ruthlessly was Matisse's Woman With a Hat. Matisse did not take the criticism well, and was very disheartened by the many negative reviews. Thankfully, the famous art collectors Gertrude and Leo Stein purchased Woman with a Hat, and Matisse's career was saved.