Karel Appel

Happy Birthday Karel Appel!! Born in Amsterdam, in 1921, this artist was a painter and sculptor and an originator of the artistic group Cobra. His first painting was created when he was 14. His mother did not approve of his becoming an artist so he had to leave home after studying art during the German occupation from 1940-43. He was influenced by artists Picasso, Matisse and Jean Dubuffet. He made found object sculpture and joined a group of artists in Holland, later forming the group Cobra. The group was rather controversial, so he eventually moved to Paris. This sculpture was created in 1976 and is a good representation of his bold use of colr and simplistic shapes in both his painting and sculpture. The artist died in 2006.