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To make up for my recent silence, I hope over the next month to complete a series of short posts on Fauve artists as printmakers. For no particular reason, I'll start today with Maurice de Vlaminck. Vlaminck was born in Paris in 1876. His father was Belgian (the name Vlaminck or Wlaminck means �Flemish�); his mother was from Lorraine. Both were musicians. Maurice de Vlaminck, Beaumont, Oise Etching, 1927 Despite this artistic background, Vlaminck originally intended to be a professional cyclist, and it has often been noted that his landscapes are like the glimpses of a passing cyclist, crouched low over the handlebars of his bike watching the world rush by. Maurice de Vlaminck, Nesles la Vall�e Etching, 1927 In 1896 a bout of typhoid fever put paid to Maurice de Vlaminck�s athletic ambition. Maurice de Vlaminck, Environs de Marines, Oise Etching, 1927 It was while on leave from his military service, on 18 June 1900, that Vlaminck had a chance encounter with Andr� Derain on a train.