DÉTAILS DE L'IMAGE

Galerie Boulakia

Karel Appel (Amsterdam 1921-2006 Zurich)
Untitled, 1960
Oil on canvas
81 x 116 cm
Signed and dated lower right
Written confirmation of the work's authenticity
Provenance: private collection

Karel Appel was a Dutch painter, avid sculptor, and one of the founders of the avant-garde CoBrA movement in 1948. Born in the Netherlands, he began painting at the age of fourteen. Recognised for his ironic imagery, bold brushstrokes and energetic use of colour, Appel’s work received both broad critical acclaim and unfavourable criticisms.

Known for his figurative abstractions and expressive colours, Appel found inspiration in the artwork of children and the rejection of sophisticated aesthetic tastes. He was drawn to the animated, primitive style of Jean Dubuffet in the years following the isolated, repressive environment of WWII in Amsterdam. In a childlike manner, painted in thick, black lines against a background of primary colours, Appel's unique style is immediately discernible in Untitled, 1960.