Taking inspiration from Derain’s painting of The Pool of London, a section of the river Thames where ships unloaded cargo and goods were traded, discover historical landmarks in a brightly coloured world, like the painting itself.
Starting at London Bridge, visit historic sites such as The Tower of London; climb The Queen’s Pipe chimney at St Katherine’s Dock; and descend into the forgotten river Neckinger that runs beneath the city whilst you search for the pigments Monsieur Derain used in his paintings.
This Minecraft map is based on The Pool of London, a 1906 painting by André Derain
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The artwork that inspired the game
André Derain
The Pool of London
(1906)
Tate
This is a painting by the French artist André Derain, created on a trip to London in 1906.
At this time, while living in Paris, he was a leading member of the group of painters called Les Fauves, French for ‘wild beasts’. The name was initially an insult from a critic who was unimpressed with their ‘wild’ and, as he saw it, unsophisticated use of colour. It is now the name by which we know this group of early-twentieth century Modern artists, including Derain and Henri Matisse, who used colour in a new and exciting way.
This view of the River Thames from London Bridge is one of four paintings by Derain, showing the same part of the river. He had been sent to London by his dealer, Ambroise Vollard. The idea was to update, in Fauve style, the popular Thames views painted by Claude Monet a few years earlier. Strongly-coloured and freely-handled, this painting is characteristic of Fauvism in creating vivid effects through bold contrasts of colour.
In the fictional Tate Worlds map, inspired by the painting, you meet André Derain who has lost his paint box. By exploring the historical area around The Pool of London, a section of the river where ships unloaded cargo and goods were traded, recreated here in bright Fauvist colours as if painted by Derain himself, you go in search of the pigments needed to create Derain’s paints.