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Karel AppelDutch artist, sculptor, graphic artist.
Date of Birth: 25.04.1921
Country:  Netherlands |
Content:
Biography of Karel Appel
Early Life and EducationKarel Appel was a Dutch artist, sculptor, and graphic designer. He was born in Amsterdam into a family of hairdressers. After finishing school, he initially worked at his father's hair salon, but at the age of 18, he left his parental home to pursue a career as an artist. In 1940, he received a scholarship to the Academy of Fine Arts in the Dutch capital. His early works were influenced by Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.
Founding of "Cobra"
After World War II, Appel's style underwent radical changes towards primitive art and "brut art" inspired by Jean Dubuffet. His rough and bold canvases, exuding strength and power, were first exhibited in 1946 in Amsterdam. Around the same time, he connected with artists from the avant-garde circle and in 1948, together with two compatriots - Constant and Corneille - he founded the Experimental Group, which leaned towards the geometric language of form, similar to the proponents of the "De Stijl" movement. The three artists began publishing the magazine "Reflex". A year later, they joined forces with two more artists - Belgian Pierre Alechinsky and Dane Asger Jorn - and formed the group called "Cobra", named after the initial letters of the capitals of their respective home countries (Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam). According to their manifesto, a painting was no longer just a construction of lines and colors, but "an animal, a night, a scream, a human being, or all of these together".
1949: Scandal
In 1949, Appel received a commission to create a painted wooden relief for the Amsterdam City Hall. The artwork titled "Questioning Children" caused a public scandal as it was perceived as a challenge. The relief had to be temporarily removed due to public outcry. After the scandal, Appel began referring to himself as a barbarian and actively maintained this image - while painting, he would splatter paint onto the canvas, accompanied by loud groans and cries. In 1950, Appel, who claimed he could only leave the Netherlands for a maximum of three days, moved to Paris. Here, he developed his unique style characterized by the combination of figurative and abstract elements. Appel worked in a style of aggressive distortion of figures, as seen in his painting "Tragic Action" (1956). He once said, "My paint tube acts like a rocket," as he applied paint with broad brushes, smearing it across the canvas.
1960: Award
In addition to working in his studio, Appel always participated in competitions for public building decorations. It was through one of these competitions that he created the panel "Meeting of Spring" in 1959 for the UNESCO building in Paris. In 1960, at the age of 39, the painter received the Solomon R. Guggenheim International Award for his painting "Woman with a Bouquet" (1957). (Appel was the youngest recipient of this award at the time, and its presentation marked his definitive success in the United States.) This swirling composition, dominated by vibrant red, yellow, and blue tones, is very bright and piercing. The paint is applied so thickly that the painting almost looks like a relief.
Early 70s: Sculptures
In 1966, Appel acquired a castle near Osser, France. Two years later, deeply affected by student protests, he created a lithograph depicting maimed students as victims of police brutality. In the early 1970s, Appel began sculpting and created a series of large sculptures made of colorful aluminum components. Soon after, he started producing wooden sculptures of large human-like figures. In his paintings, he remained true to his own style, with the figurative elements becoming clearer, and the technique of applying paint becoming calmer, as seen in his work "Twice" (1974). In 1977, Appel created an aluminum sculpture titled "Art-Robot" for the University of Dijon. He dedicated himself entirely to sculpture, as this spatial art form provided him with greater freedom in terms of form compared to painting.
