Final answer:
The Fauves, led by Henri Matisse and Andre Derain, were the group that revolutionized the use of color in painting as an expressive element, utilizing bold and unnatural colors to capture emotion and movement.
Step-by-step explanation:
The group that took color beyond its traditional role of describing natural appearance to become an element of expression was The Fauves. The Fauvism movement, led by artists like Henri Matisse and Andre Derain, stood out for using vivid, bold colors directly from the tube onto the canvas. Their approach was characterized by the use of unnatural colors placed in unexpected areas of the painting, creating a strong, expressive effect. The bold use of color was to express meaning or movement within the form, leading to a rejection of realistic colors like green for grass or blue for skies. The paint was applied roughly, and the simplified forms combined with saturated colors gave an energetic feel to their artwork, defying the standards of academic painting.