Van Dongen began to exhibit in Paris, and participated in the controversial 1905 Salon d'Automne exhibition[8] along with Henri Matisse, André Derain, Albert Marquet, Maurice de Vlaminck, Charles Camoin, and Jean Puy. The bright colours of this group of artists led to them being called Fauves ('Wild Beasts') by art critic Louis Vauxcelles.[9] Van Dongen was also briefly a member of the German Expressionist group Die Brücke.