Yves Klein (1928 - 1962) - photo 1

Yves Klein

Yves Klein was a French artist, renowned for his innovative use of pure color and his approach to the conceptual aspects of monochrome painting. Klein, born in 1928 in Nice, France, left an indelible mark on the art world despite his brief career, which ended with his untimely death in 1962.

Klein is best known for his invention of International Klein Blue (IKB), a deep blue hue which he registered as a trademark color and used extensively in his works. This vibrant blue, which he developed in collaboration with a chemist, represented more than just a color; it was a means of evoking the immateriality and boundlessness of space. His monochrome blue canvases, large-scale public performances, and pioneering works in performance art established him as a leading figure in the Nouveau Réalisme movement in post-war Europe.

Aside from his famous blue monochromes, Klein’s Anthropometries series, where he used nude women as 'living brushes' to transfer blue paint onto canvases, is another testament to his innovative artistic methods. These performances, often accompanied by a small orchestra playing his "Monotone Symphony" — a single, continuous note played for twenty minutes followed by twenty minutes of silence — challenged traditional perceptions of the artist's role and the creation process.

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Date and place of birt:28 april 1928, Nice, France
Date and place of death:6 june 1962, Paris, France
Nationality:France
Period of activity: XX century
Specialization:Artist, Painter, Sculptor
Art school / group:ZERO, Nouveau Réalisme
Genre:Allegory, Performance art
Art style:Minimalism, Post War Art, Conceptual art
Technique:Installation

Creators France

Giovanni Boldini (1842 - 1931)
Giovanni Boldini
1842 - 1931
Antoine Ansiaux (1764 - 1840)
Antoine Ansiaux
1764 - 1840
Agustin Lazo Adalid (1896 - 1971)
Agustin Lazo Adalid
1896 - 1971
Henri Georges Jacques Chartier (1859 - 1924)
Henri Georges Jacques Chartier
1859 - 1924
Jean Simeon Rousseau de la Rottiere (1747 - 1820)
Jean Simeon Rousseau de la Rottiere
1747 - 1820
Wolfgang Paalen (1905 - 1959)
Wolfgang Paalen
1905 - 1959
Adrien Vachette (1753 - 1839)
Adrien Vachette
1753 - 1839
Jacques Le Chevallier (1896 - 1987)
Jacques Le Chevallier
1896 - 1987
Jules Wengel (1865 - 1934)
Jules Wengel
1865 - 1934
Merry-Joseph Blondel (1781 - 1853)
Merry-Joseph Blondel
1781 - 1853
Claude Vignon (1593 - 1670)
Claude Vignon
1593 - 1670
Luc Peire (1916 - 1994)
Luc Peire
1916 - 1994
Nikolai Nikolayevich Ovchinnikov (1958)
Nikolai Nikolayevich Ovchinnikov
1958
Georges Jean Marie Haquette (1852 - 1906)
Georges Jean Marie Haquette
1852 - 1906
Jean Giraudoux (1882 - 1944)
Jean Giraudoux
1882 - 1944
Bernard Dumaine (1953)
Bernard Dumaine
1953

Creators Conceptual art

Al Held (1928 - 2005)
Al Held
1928 - 2005
Harry Sternberg (1904 - 2001)
Harry Sternberg
1904 - 2001
Ehsfir Mikhailovna Ginstling (1904 - 1993)
Ehsfir Mikhailovna Ginstling
1904 - 1993
Ed Moses (1926 - 2018)
Ed Moses
1926 - 2018
Francisco Toledo (1940 - 2019)
Francisco Toledo
1940 - 2019
Moshe Gershuni (1936 - 2017)
Moshe Gershuni
1936 - 2017
Wolfgang Herzig (1941)
Wolfgang Herzig
1941
Uli Schoop (1903 - 1990)
Uli Schoop
1903 - 1990
Vibha Galhotra (1978)
Vibha Galhotra
1978
John Ward (1938 - 2023)
John Ward
1938 - 2023
Walter Einbeck (1890 - 1968)
Walter Einbeck
1890 - 1968
Bernhard Moser (XX century - ?)
Bernhard Moser
XX century - ?
Galina Petrovna Levitskaia (1922 - 2004)
Galina Petrovna Levitskaia
1922 - 2004
Vladislav Ivanovich Shcherbina (1926 - 2017)
Vladislav Ivanovich Shcherbina
1926 - 2017
Nikolai Georgievich Tikhonov (1892 - 1988)
Nikolai Georgievich Tikhonov
1892 - 1988
Gerhard Altenbourg (1926 - 1989)
Gerhard Altenbourg
1926 - 1989