Untitled (Head)

Currently not on view

Untitled (Head)

1963

Karel Appel (Dutch, 1921–2006)

One of the founding members of the CoBrA movement in the late 1940s, Karel Appel continued to employ the expressionistic and spontaneous style characteristic of the group long after its dissolution in the early 1950s. The features of the distorted, grimacing face in Untitled (Head) are defined by the thickness of the paint, which gives the work an almost sculptural quality. The artist is known for squirting pigment directly onto the canvas without the use of a brush. About this tangible, sensuous experience of painting Appel said: “In the mass of paint, I find my imagination and go on to paint it.”

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Untitled (Head)

Date:

1963

Artist:

Karel Appel (Dutch, 1921–2006)

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

22 x 14 inches (55.9 x 35.6 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Gift of Mrs. Bernard Kohn, 1992

Accession Number:

1992-58-1

Geography:

Made in Netherlands, Europe

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Currently not on view