L'Homme avec chapeau comme le ciel. 1966.
Object. Wooden sculpture, in colors.
Visser/Hagenberg #66-001. Kuspit p. 157. Signed and dated on rear. With a typographically titled letter band on the base plate. 275 x 110 x 51 cm (108.2 x 43.3 x 20 in).
[CB].

The work is registered in the archive of the Karel Appel Foundation, Amsterdam.

PROVENANCE: Formerly in a Swiss private collection.

LITERATURE: Pierre Restany and Allen Ginsberg, Karel Appel. Street art, Ceramics, Sculptures, Wood Reliefs, Tapestries, Murals, Villa el Salvador, Amsterdam 1985, illu. on p. 181.

In 1964 Appel bought Castle Molesmes near Auxerre, where he produced large polychrome reliefs and freestanding sculptures of wood and polyester. Our large assemblage wood sculpture is characterized by the strong colors applied in broad strokes of the brush. The influence of "CoBrA" (1948-1951) can be find in Appel's entire oeuvre of paintings and sculptures. He created experimental works with curious figurative forms and in expressive-lucent colors. Most of his motifs are simplified images of landscapes, animals and people. These works, including ours, were made beyond all academic traditions and have not lost their fascinating expressive power up until today.