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The painter and sculptor Karel Appel (Dutch, born April 25, 1921 in Amsterdam - died May 3, 2006 in Zurich), co-founder of the CoBrA group, is known for its vibrant, abstract works and contributes to the introduction of a new form of expressive painting in Europe. He studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the early 1940. He is attracted by the primitive style, animated by Jean Dubuffet after years of repression and isolation during World War II in Amsterdam.

In 1948, he founded the CoBrA, acronym made up of the towns of origin of the artists, that is to say, Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam, with colleagues artists Asger Jorn, Corneille Guillaume and Pierre Alechinsky, advocating expressive painting techniques and Spontaneous inspired by folk art and primitive imagery. The job of Appeal receives both broad critical acclaim and adverse criticism. At the request of the municipality of Amsterdam, he painted a fresco depicting children who smile so ironically that the workers are asking for cover. In 1950, he moved to Paris, where he continues to receive criticism of recognition for his ironic imagery, bold strokes of his brushes and energetic colors. He received the UNESCO prize at the Venice Biennale in 1954 and the first prize at a Guggenheim exhibition in 1960. Years later, Appel also works sculpture, assembly, poetry, lithography and scenography. He organized solo exhibitions around the world in cities such as New York, London, Paris, Milan and Tokyo. Call dies at his home in Zurich in 2006 at the age of 85.