Achille-Émile Othon Friesz (1879 – 1949), was a French artist of the Fauvist movement.
He studied at the Le Havre School of Fine Arts and then went to Paris where he met Henri Matisse, Albert Marquet and Georges Rouault and became a member of the Fauves.
When he returned to Normandy his style was more traditional and during the last years of his life, he painted in a style completely removed from that of his earlier colleagues and his contemporaries. He abandoned the lively arabesques and brilliant colors of the Fauves and preferred the more sober palette that he has studied in Le Havre.
His paintings reminded the style of Cézanne and were based in a logical composition, simple tonality and distinct separation of planes. A faint baroque flavor added vigor to his landscapes and figure paintings.
Roofs and Cathedral in Rouen (1908), Hermitage Museum
