Karel Appel dies in Zurich

Karel Appel, a founder of the influential COBRA art group known for its spontaneous expressionism, has died at his home in Zurich, Switzerland.

Karel Appel, Hip Hip Hooray, 1949. Oil on canvas. 82x129 cm.

Influenced by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, he joined a group of artists called the Dutch Experimental Group, then linked up in 1949 with Danish and Belgian artists to form COBRA - the name was drawn from the cities of Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam.

The group later exhibited in Paris, alongside artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.