Which term was coined by Louis Vauxcelles in his 1905 Salon d'Automne review?

• A. Fauvism
• B. Die Brücke
• C. Cubism
• D. Dada

Answer: (A)

The term being tested refers to the moment a critic named a new approach to color and painting. In 1905, Louis Vauxcelles wrote a Salon d'Automne review describing a group of painters—most notably Matisse and Derain—whose bold, non-naturalistic use of color and expressive brushwork stood in stark contrast to traditional realism. He called them “the wild beasts” (fauves), and the nickname stuck, giving birth to Fauvism as the label for this color-forward, emotionally driven style. This naming captures how the movement defined itself: color as the primary vehicle of expression, with simplified forms and vigorous painting technique.

Die Brücke refers to a German Expressionist group; Cubism and Dada denote other movements with different origins and timelines. Fauvism is the correct term because its origin lies specifically in Vauxcelles’s 1905 description at the Salon d'Automne.