Corneille - 'tête de femme et l'oiseaux' - Sold

Corneille (Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo, 1922 - 2010) 'tête de femme e l'oiseaux'
Watercolor/mixed media
29x20cm
framed 40 x 30 cm
signed and dated '70 lower left
Sheet slightly wavy

Corneille, whose real name is Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo, was born to Dutch parents on July 3, 1922 in Liège, where he spent his childhood with his three older sisters. From 1940 to 1943 he studied at the Reich Academy of Fine Arts, where he attended a drawing and etching course. At only 26 years old he had his first solo exhibitions in Groningen. His artistic style of this time was still strongly oriented towards reality. In addition to landscape paintings and still lifes, he also painted figurative representations.

After founding the experimental artist group Reflex with Karel Appel and Constant Niewenhuys, he became a co-founder of the international artist group CoBrA in 1948, which was to revolutionize art and literature. With their aggressive, satirical and primitive imagery, the members particularly opposed post-war abstract painting. Although the group only existed for three years, this phase had a formative influence on Corneille's work. One often finds motifs such as women, birds, or flowers in his colorful works that wanted to elude traditional painting.
In 1950 the artist moved to Paris, where he lived and worked until his death. There he began to work with ceramics and printing techniques, such as etching. His style was influenced by modern artists such as Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso.
Even after the dissolution of CoBrA, the artist initially remained true to his abstract, color-expressive style. Little by little he finds his way back to his artistic beginnings. His pictures and works become calmer and have a much clearer style. Inspired by his travels to Africa, he increasingly uses a color palette of earthy and gray tones. His numerous trips to Cuba, Asia and the American continent also had a demonstrable influence on his oeuvre.
Guillaume took part twice in the documenta in Kassel. His paintings and works can be found in the Cobra Museum for Modern Art in Amstelveen or the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The Dutch painter died in France in 2010 at the age of 88 after a long illness.