(Liège 1922–2010 Auvers-sur-Oise)
Composition with animals 1955, signed and dated Corneille 1955, oil on canvas, 74 x 92 cm, framed

The work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the Fondation Guillaume Corneille, Brussels, 1 July 2015.

Provenance:
European Private Collection

One of the founders of the Reflex and the COBRA movement, Guillaume Corneille Beverloo, better known as Corneille, travelled extensively through his whole life, each trip being a source of new inspirations as well as an opportunity to meet new people.

His work - highly lyrical and poetical - was strongly influenced by Miró and Klee. However, over the years, he created a specific thematic vocabulary, dominated by primordial forces: the stars, the clouds, the sea, the land, the animals. Judging his formation too academic, he aimed to return to the primary sources of creation, and looked for artistic forms spared from the standards and conventions of Western culture, such as the totems and magical symbols of primitive cultures, oriental calligraphy, prehistoric and medieval art.

His paintings in bright colours, of which the present work is a wonderful example, often present an idyllic world, almost childlike, populated by birds, omnipresent cats, women and suns. This positive vision, both in terms of the theme and colours, enables Corneille to forge a unique and remarkable visual world, celebrated during countless exhibitions worldwide.