Karel Appel, the Dutch painter, graphic artists and ceramist, was born in Amsterdam on 25 April 1921 and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts there between 1940 and 1943, where he came to know Corneille, the Dutch artist.

After the end of World War II, he traveled through Germany, France and Scandinavia, and together with Corneille and Constant he founded the reflection group "Group Experimental Hollandais". This experimental group later joined "Cobra", the international group of artists, of which Pierre Alechinsky, Asger Jorn and Lucebert were also members. These artists represented an expressive style of painting, emphasizing emotions. Their first exhibition caused a scandal.

When Appel moved to Paris in 1950, the center of the "Cobra" group also moved there, but it was dissolved in 1951. At the beginning of his career, Appel was influenced by artists such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, later he found inspiration in the works of Jean Dubuffet. During the Cobra phase, Appel's pictures were characterized by forceful lines and figural representations. From John Asger he took over the strong colors, which gave direction to his creations. Most of his works are in an Expressionist style and lean towards the expressive language of van Gogh. Although he represented Abstract Expressionism, his works also include concrete subjects, as for example portraits.

Karel Appel, who is probably the most important Dutch painter of the second half of the 20th century, received a number of important public commissions for work, and in 1960 he was awarded the international prize of the Guggenheim Foundation.