Corneille – The Painter of Joy
The Dutch artist Corneille (1922–2010) poetically described the idiom that he sought to emulate throughout his life. He began his career at the Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam in 1940, but after the war he left the deeply conservative art scene of his homeland in favour of Budapest and later Paris. It was during this time that he met the artists with whom he founded CoBrA in 1948.
“The painting should no longer be a woman seen from behind, from the front, the resting, nude odalisque or the model, skilfully reconstructed by means of cubes, squares or spots, but a woman seen by the bird, envisioned by the stone, inscribed in the lake, shaped by the clouds.”
Corneille
Corneille drew inspiration for his distinctive idiom from a wide-ranging field. His images are laden with meaning, which we, the emotions-led observers that we are, often intuitively understand, but which are far more difficult to analyse. Through his art, Corneille wanted to share the sum total of his experiences with us in a two-dimensional and colourful idiom. He called himself “The painter of joy” and at one point said: “There are people who believe in heaven after they die. I believe in heaven on earth”. This positive outlook on life, coupled with the broadly appealing idiom, is probably the reason why Corneille was one of the most popular CoBrA artists. His vivid paintings from the early 1970s in particular abound with strong symbols, with the woman, the sun, the flower, the cat and especially the bird given a prominent place – the latter as the incarnation of imagination, freedom and movement.
According to Corneille, he lived for periods as a nomad, leading him far beyond Europe’s borders. In South America, he found inspiration in the magnificent nature and colourful wildlife, but Corneille had a special fondness for Africa, which he visited several times. He was particularly fascinated by the colours, the smells, the original culture and the artistic forms of expression he found there. The inspiration he drew from his travels was immediately reflected in his works. Corneille’s oeuvre can collectively be described as a narrative epic of all the joys of life, hence the continued popularity of his works in the auction market.
Highlights from Corneille at the Auction
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