Painting, like passion, is an emotion full of truth and rings a living sound, like the roar coming from the lion's breast. To paint is to destroy what preceded. I never try to make a painting, but a chunk of life. It is a scream; it is a night; it is like a child; it is a tiger behind bars.
Karel Appel
Karel Appel 1921–2006
Karel Appel was a pioneering Dutch painter, sculptor, and poet known for his colorful, expressive works that significantly influenced post-war European art. Born in Amsterdam on April 25, 1921, Christiaan Karel Appel grew up in a modest family. Appel's creative talents were evident from a young age. He began painting at fourteen years old and enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Amsterdam in 1940. After finishing his studies in 1943, he had his first solo show at Het Beerenhuis, Groningen, Netherlands and participated in Jonge Schilders (Young painters) at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
Appel's early works were heavily influenced by Picasso, Matisse, and Jean Dubuffet. However, he soon developed a unique style characterized by bold colors, dynamic brushstrokes, and a raw, almost primal, energy. In 1948, he co-founded the COBRA movement (an acronym for Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam) along with other avant-garde artists like Asger Jorn and Constant Nieuwenhuys. This group rejected traditional aesthetics and embraced spontaneity, experimentation, and a childlike sense of wonder in their art.
One of Appel's most famous early works is Questioning Children (1949), a mural created for the cafeteria of Amsterdam's city hall. The piece caused a scandal due to its vibrant, chaotic imagery, and it was eventually covered up for being too controversial. This reaction only reinforced Appel's commitment to pushing artistic boundaries and challenging societal norms. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, his work gained international recognition. He moved to Paris in 1950, where he became associated with the Art Informel movement. His style evolved, becoming more abstract yet retaining its intense emotional impact. Appel's works from this period often featured distorted human figures and animals, rendered in thick, impasto layers of paint.
In addition to painting, Appel experimented with other media, including sculpture, ceramics, and printmaking. His sculptures, like his paintings, were characterized by their colors and dynamic forms. Appel's career was marked by numerous exhibitions and accolades. He represented the Netherlands at the Venice Biennale in 1954 (where he won the UNESCO Prize), and his works were exhibited in major museums and galleries worldwide, including the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His legacy lives on in the Karel Appel Foundation, created in 1999 with the aim of promoting public awareness and knowledge of works by the artist.
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