Karel Appel

(Dutch, 1921–2006)

Karel Appel was an influential Dutch painter whose figurative abstractions employed expressive colors and forms. Like Jean Dubuffet, Appel found inspiration in the artwork of children and the rejection of sophisticated aesthetic tastes. “Painting, like passion, is an emotion full of truth and rings a living sound, like the roar coming from the lion's breast,” he reflected. “To paint is to destroy what preceded. I never try to make a painting, but a chunk of life.” Born on April 25, 1921 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, he went on to study at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten and had his first solo exhibition in 1946. Inspired by the work of Paul Klee and Joan Miró, Appel began experimenting with a rudimentary approach of describing subject matter reminiscent of folk art. In 1948, he helped form the CoBrA group (an acronym for the cities the artists were from: Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam), along with Asger Jorn, Constant, Corneille and others who were united in their rejection of rationalism and geometric abstraction. Following the dissolution of CoBrA in 1952, Appel joined Art Informel, another collection of abstract artists which included Michel Tapié and Henri Michaux. Through the following decades the artist continued his engagement with painterly expression and was the subject of several solo exhibitions. He died on May 3, 2006 in Zürich, Switzerland. Appel’s works are presently held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Karel Appel Artworks

Karel Appel (11,953 results)
Regard vers l'infini, 1963

Karel Appel

Regard vers l'infini, 1963

Sale Date: March 22, 2010

Auction Closed

Personnage en bleu

Karel Appel

Personnage en bleu

Sale Date: April 2, 2010

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Personnage - animal (2 works), 1969

Karel Appel

Personnage - animal (2 works), 1969

Sale Date: April 2, 2010

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Deux visages - portrait (2 works), 1969

Karel Appel

Deux visages - portrait (2 works), 1969

Sale Date: April 2, 2010

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Deux visages - portaits (2 works), 1969

Karel Appel

Deux visages - portaits (2 works), 1969

Sale Date: April 2, 2010

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Deux visages - un personnage (2 works), 1969

Karel Appel

Deux visages - un personnage (2 works), 1969

Sale Date: April 2, 2010

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Woman with golden eye, 1974

Karel Appel

Woman with golden eye, 1974

Sale Date: March 27, 2010

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Sad clown

Karel Appel

Sad clown

Sale Date: March 27, 2010

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Visage vert et rouge, 1975

Karel Appel

Visage vert et rouge, 1975

Sale Date: March 23, 2010

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Tête bleue, 1970

Karel Appel

Tête bleue, 1970

Sale Date: March 15, 2010

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Composition, 1988

Karel Appel

Composition, 1988

Sale Date: March 8, 2010

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Untitled, 1973

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: March 25, 2010

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Untitled, 1960–1965

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1960–1965

Sale Date: March 25, 2010

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Téte dans l'espace, 1969

Karel Appel

Téte dans l'espace, 1969

Sale Date: March 25, 2010

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Composition, 1969

Karel Appel

Composition, 1969

Sale Date: March 8, 2010

Auction Closed

Zeist, 1977

Karel Appel

Zeist, 1977

Sale Date: March 8, 2010

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Onze twee lichamen (our two bodies) (+ Verlaten...

Karel Appel

Onze twee lichamen (our two bodies) (+ Verlaten...

Sale Date: March 8, 2010

Auction Closed

Composition with figures

Karel Appel

Composition with figures

Sale Date: March 8, 2010

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Composition

Karel Appel

Composition

Sale Date: March 8, 2010

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Personage

Karel Appel

Personage

Sale Date: March 8, 2010

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Portrait, 1977

Karel Appel

Portrait, 1977

Sale Date: March 1, 2010

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Composition

Karel Appel

Composition

Sale Date: March 1, 2010

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Dans la tempete, 1960

Karel Appel

Dans la tempete, 1960

Sale Date: March 12, 2010

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Untitled, 1977

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1977

Sale Date: March 9, 2010

Auction Closed