Karel Appel (Dutch, 1921-2006), , Blue Personnage with

Karel Appel (Dutch, 1921-2006)Blue Personnage with Red WindSigned and dated 60 bottom right, acrylic, gouache and colored crayons on paper laid down on board.22 x 30 11/16 in. (55.9 x 77.9cm)PROVENANCE:Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, "Modern & Contemporary Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture," June 17, 1975, lot 48. Collection of Dr. Henry and Mrs. Fannie Levine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (acquired directly from the above sale).NOTE:Painter, sculptor, printmaker and poet, Karel Appel was a prolific creative force. His avant-garde theories and bold artistic experimentations led him to produce work of challenging intellectual rigor, aesthetic originality and dynamic narratives ranging from the menacing to the fanciful.Born in Amsterdam in 1921, Appel began his training as a pupil of his uncle before going on to continue his formal studies at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten. It was there, in the early 1940s, where he met fellow Dutch painter Corneille. The two men, along with artists Asger John, Constant, Christian Dotremont and Joseph Noiret, went on to found the groundbreaking CoBrA Art Group in 1948. Named for the home cities of its founders (Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam), CoBrA espoused the artistic philosophy of a direct, spontaneous and active expression, and a move away from what its artists considered to be the cold abstraction of modern western painting. The resulting artwork, heavily influenced by children's, folk and primitive art, as well as the work of Joan Miró, Paul Klee and Art Brut pioneer Jean Dubuffet, was rendered in heavily impastoed, exuberant brushstrokes, brilliant colors and often featured distorted figures or animal forms. At times joyful, and at others hauntingly reminiscent of the frightening truths of the war years, the subjects of the CoBrA artists' works invariably illicit a strong, and often gut, reaction from their viewers, as was surely the intent of their creators.Appel was a leading figure within this group, and though the collective itself disbanded in 1952, he continued to produce highly inventive work deeply influenced by the ideas that led to its creation. He also continued to thoughtfully engage with international artists, travelling abroad to Paris, Mexico, Italy and Manhattan, where he made his New York City debut at the venerable Martha Jackson Gallery. Indeed, several of the Appels from the Levine's collection passed through the gallery's doors along their journey.The Levines focused their attention primarily on the artist's output from the 1950s and 60s, exploring both his work on canvas and on paper. The depth of their collection of his work, as well as their treasured examples by important Appel counterparts Asger Jorn and Jean Dubuffet, allowed them (and by extension us) a richer and more nuanced understanding of Appel's work and of his place in the art historical canon.