Harvard Art Museums > 1958.266: Harlequin Nude Paintings Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Harlequin Nude (Karel Appel) , 1958.266,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 25, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/228587. This object does not yet have a description. Gallery Text In 1948, Appel was among the group of emerging European artists who formed the avant-garde movement CoBrA, a reference to the capital cities of its founding members: Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam. Horror-struck at the atrocities perpetrated by the West during World War II and the rise of the Cold War in its aftermath, the group began to challenge measured and cerebral approaches to art through frenzied and spontaneous methods of creative expression. Central to their approach was the use of what they considered “primitive” or unbridled mark making. While influenced by artists such as Picasso and Dubuffet, Appel’s work was based wholly on emotion, intuition, and immediacy. In Harlequin Nude, the thick impasto and frenetic energy of the figure’s outline, created from clumps of black paint applied directly from the tube, suggest a frantic unleashing of primal energy. Identification and Creation Object Number 1958.266 People Karel Appel, Dutch (Amsterdam 1921 - 2006 Zurich, Austria) Title Harlequin Nude Other Titles Original Language Title: Nu Harlequin Classification Paintings Work Type painting Date 1956 Places Creation Place: Europe, Netherlands Culture Dutch Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/228587 Location Location Level 1, Room 1330, Modern and Contemporary Art, New Images View this object's location on our interactive map Physical Descriptions Medium Oil on canvas Dimensions 146.05 x 114.3 cm (57 1/2 x 45 in.) Inscriptions and Marks Signed: l.l.: J.K. Appel '56 Provenance Recorded Ownership History G. David Thompson, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1958. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Mr. G. David Thompson, in memory of his son, G. David Thompson, Jr., Class of 1958 Copyright © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Karel Appel Foundation Accession Year 1958 Object Number 1958.266 Division Modern and Contemporary Art Contact am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Publication History Highlights from the Collections of the Fogg Museum and Harvard Alumni of St. Louis, exh. cat., City Art Museum of St. Louis (St. Louis, 1964), cat. no. 8, n.p. Exhibition History Highlights from the Collection of the Fogg Art Museum and Harvard Alumni of St. Louis, City Art Museum of St. Louis, St. Louis, 01/30/1964 - 03/01/1964 32Q: 1330 Mid-Century Figurative, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
