Exhibited: Exposition internationale d'art expérimental, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam 3–28 November 1949 - Présentation de l’exposition: Aldo van Eyck. Provenance: Collection Ernest van Zuylen, Liège, Belgium (label and ex-libris on the stretcher). Acquired directly from the artist. Provenance Private collection, Denmark.

Born in Belgium to Dutch parents, Corneille (Cornelis Guillaume Van Beverloo) studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam from 1940–43, where he meets Karel Appel. He is later a co-founder of CoBrA, where, possessed of a poetic disposition, he also writes poems for the group’s publications. Despite the short life of the movement and countless internal conflicts, in a special moment of hope, a shared universe, inhabited by all manner of magical creatures and strange beings, is created. Birds in particular occupy a central place as a promise of the freedom that is so essential after the war. They are potent, meaning-laden symbols – not just in our cultural circle – and appear in a sea of myths, religious depictions and stories. Birds evoke an immediate longing for distant horizons. And a deep longing for elsewhere is in fact typical of Corneille, who lives as a nomad at various times of his life. His wanderlust and appetite for life take him far beyond Europe’s borders. His first visit to North Africa in 1949 marks the beginning of extensive travels throughout the 1950s. Journeying through Africa, South America and other distant corners of the world, he finds himself entranced by the magnificent landscapes and vibrant wildlife, and is fascinated by the colours, scents, indigenous cultures and rich diversity of artistic expression. Corneille’s works bridge reality and imagination, weaving together lived experiences, emotions and sensations in an infinite imaginative space. The composition of “Dépouillement” evokes a piece of cave art or an old, historical painting, telling its complex tale through rich, intuitive brushwork. The subdued palette, dominated by green tones contrasting with burnt orange, sets the scene for multiple figures interacting on burning yellow desert sands beneath a distant black sun.