Artist: Willem de Kooning

Essay # 57825

Art > Artists
Art > History

This paper discusses the life of Willem de Kooning and the way his art affected the Abstract Expressionism movement.

905 words () | 5 sources | APA | 2005 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Willem de Kooning was one of the artists who developed the Abstract Expressionism movement of post-World War II in which paintings were generally painted on large canvases with the artists appling paint rapidly with forceful strokes, demonstrating the energy and creativity of the country. The author points out that, in the early 1950s, de Kooning started painting a monumental series of paintings entitled "Woman" on large canvases, painted with slashing marks of the brush, having an overwhelming appearance. The paper relates that Willem de Kooning's career spanned six decades; his art was very controversial, especially his "Woman" series, violent with colors, formed with eloquent brushstrokes appearing savagely applied.

From the Paper:

"Willem de Kooning was born on April 24, 1904 in the Netherlands, also known as Holland. In 1916, at the age of twelve, he was accepted into the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts and Techniques and trained there for eight years. In 1926, he entered the United States as a stowaway on a boat and eventually settled in Hoboken, New Jersey. De Kooning made his living as a house painter and later, a teacher at Black Mountain College. A year later, he moved to a studio in Manhattan and met artist, connoisseur, and art critic John Graham and painter Arshile Gorky. Gorky became one of de Kooning's closest friends."