Karel Appel

The work is professionally paper taped to the extreme edges. One crease along the top edge which is situated 7 cm. from the upper left corner, one crease in the middle section of thel ower edge. Three spots of paper tape residue on the reverse of the work; two are situated at the upper and lower left corner and one is along the middle of the right edge, al three spots are not interfering the front image, otherwise this work is in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The verso represents a beast, executed in Indian ink. After having been separated from each other for more than fifty years they were brought together again by coincidence, creating the opportunity to put these together.

Karel Appel and his contemporaries found inspiration in the drawings of children, the mentally ill and primitive, unspoiled cultures (see: the previous lot 82, Eugène Brands, Compositie and lot 86, Anton Rooskens, Magische Vormen). Appel and other CoBrA artists sought the fantasy images of our subconscious, influenced by the theories of Carl Jung. In 1950 Karel Appel visited the exhibition held after the Congrès International de Psychiatrie in Paris. He bought the catalogue and illustrated it spontaneously. Animals were very important elements in Karel Appel's works of the early 1950s (see also lot 111 of this sale). Their apparent simplicity makes us regard them as clichés, representing the emptiness of the violence in which the stereotype becomes clear. In the best CoBrA tradition the following two works by Karel Appel show all the qualities of an animal, just as a child would draw it.