Karel Appel
Born – Amsterdam, Holland 1921
Vibrant use of colour and wild dramatic brush strokes are the notable characteristics of this Dutch painter. In 1948 Appel helped to found the short-lived international CoBrA, composed of artists from Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam – hence its name. In its dedication to expressive figuration this group was partly a reaction to what its members perceived as the lifeless nature of post-war abstraction. Among the sources of inspiration for CoBrA was the art of children. In People, Birds and Sun, painted in 1954, Appel covers the large canvas with a series of hurriedly applied gestural marks, smearing paint straight from his tube and from palette. The unfettered energy invested in the making of the painting is echoed by the direct, primitive expression of its subject. In this childlike vision, big-eyed people painted with matchstick arms and legs swirl round and round, all tangled up with bits of beak and the rays of the sun. This nature seen from the child’s viewpoint: at once both frightening and fascinating.
Masterpieces:
- Animal World
- The Crying Crocodile Tries to Catch the Sun
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About karel appel
Karel Appel
Karel Appel
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Karel Appel: Works on Paper
Jean-Clarence Lambert
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Karel Appel, Psychopathologisches Notizbuch
Johannes Gachnang
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