Karel APPEL

Born on April 25, 1921, in Amsterdam. From 1940 to 1943 he studied at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam. In 1946 his first solo show was held at Het Beerenhuis, Groningen, Netherlands, and he participated in Jonge Schilders (Young painters) at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. About this time, Appel was influenced first by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, then by Jean Dubuffet. He was a member of the Nederlandse Experimentele Groep (Dutch Experimental Group, 1948) and established the Cobra group (1948–51) with Constant (Constant Nieuwenhuys), Corneille (Guillaume Cornelis Beverloo), and other painters from Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam. The style distinguished itself through bold, expressive compositions inspired by folk and children's art, as well as by the work of Paul Klee and Joan Miró. In 1949 Appel completed a fresco for the cafeteria of the city hall in Amsterdam, which created such controversy that it was covered for ten years.