COBRA
Description
COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels (Br), Amsterdam (A). Read more ↗
Key Artists
Asger Jorn
Danish painter, co-founder, and primary driving force behind CoBrA who championed spontaneous brushwork, Nordic folklore, and child-like creative freedom.
Karel Appel
Leading Dutch CoBrA master known for turbulent, vibrant, and semi-abstract canvases populated by wild, child-like figures and aggressive color.
Constant
Co-founder and central theorist of CoBrA who co-authored the group's manifestos and advocated for uninhibited experimental expression.
Corneille
Dutch co-founder whose poetic, spontaneous paintings and prints drew deep inspiration from children's drawings, birds, and folk art.
Christian Dotremont
Belgian poet and co-founder who coined the acronym 'CoBrA' (Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam) and invented 'peintures-mots' (word-paintings).
Pierre Alechinsky
Belgian painter who joined CoBrA in 1949, merging gestural Expressionism and calligraphy into swirling, mythological compositions.
Famous Artworks
Fun Facts
The name 'CoBrA' was coined in November 1948 at the Café Notre-Dame in Paris by Belgian poet Christian Dotremont as an acronym formed from the initials of the founders' home capitals: COpenhagen, BRussels, and Amsterdam.
↗ Source: britannica.com
When the CoBrA group held its historic International Experimental Art Exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in November 1949, the public and critics were so scandalized by the raw, child-like paintings and provocative poetry readings that brawls broke out in the galleries.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org