Louis Vauxcelles (1870–1943) was an influential French art critic whose career began in the 1890s and significantly shaped the discourse around early 20th-century avant-garde movements. He gained lasting recognition for coining the pivotal terms "Fauvism" in 1905 and "Cubism" in 1908, initially using them somewhat derisively to describe the revolutionary styles he observed. Vauxcelles famously remarked on "Donatello parmi les fauves" ("Donatello among wild beasts") when viewing works by artists like Henri Matisse and André Derain at the 1905 Salon d'Automne. Three years later, he characterized Georges Braque's paintings as "bizarre cubiques," a phrase that rapidly evolved into "Cubism" for the nascent style. He regularly contributed to prominent journals such as *Gil Blas* and *Excelsior*, and later founded *Le Carnet des artistes* and edited *L'Amour de l'art*. Despite his critical stance, his sharp observations inadvertently provided the enduring names for two of modern art's most significant movements.
