Kline, Franz

Kline, Franz
born 1910, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., U.S.
died May 13, 1962, New York, N.Y.

U.S. painter.

He studied art in London before settling in New York City. He became one of the leading artists of the Abstract Expressionist movement and was known for his use of inexpensive commercial paints and large house-painter's brushes to build graphic networks of rough bars of black paint on white backgrounds. He achieved a sense of majesty and power in such large-scale works as Mahoning (1956). In the late 1950s he introduced colour into his paintings.

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▪ American artist
in full  Franz Rowe Kline 
born May 23, 1910, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., U.S.
died May 13, 1962, New York, N.Y.
 American artist who was one of the leading painters of the post-World War II Abstract Expressionist movement.

      Kline studied at Boston University (1931–35) and at the Heatherley School of Art, London (1937–38), settling in New York City in the latter year. He was originally a representational painter, working in a style that merged Cubism and social realism. But in 1949, after viewing some of his black-and-white sketches enlarged by a projector, he realized their potential impact as large, abstract compositions. He began immediately to develop a highly personal form of Abstract Expressionism, a style of art based on the more or less spontaneous expression in abstract design of the artist's psychic states. Within a phenomenally short period of time, he mastered the new style, producing such masterpieces as Nijinsky (Petrushka) (c. 1950) almost immediately. Using inexpensive commercial paints and large house painter's brushes, he built graphic networks of rough but controlled bars of black paint on white backgrounds, creating positive shapes with the white areas as well as with the black strokes. Paintings such as Mahoning (1956) are characteristically of such large dimensions that the total effect is one of majesty and power. In the late 1950s Kline introduced colour into his paintings. Before his death, his work assumed a new direction in the extreme simplicity and elegance of huge, carefully balanced masses.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • KLINE, FRANZ — (1910–1962), U.S. painter. Kline was born in Wilkes Barre, Pa., but grew up in Philadelphia, and attended the School of Fine and Applied Arts at Boston University from 1931 to 1935 and Heatherly s Art School, London (1937–38). He settled in New… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Kline,Franz Joseph — Kline (klīn), Franz Joseph. 1910 1962. American abstract expressionist painter many of whose works are characterized by bold, controlled black strokes on a white field. * * * …   Universalium

  • Kline, Franz — ► (1910 62) Pintor estadounidense. Es uno de los protagonistas del action painting. Su pintura es impulsiva y violenta. Autor de Sigfrido y Contrafuerte. * * * (1910, Wilkes Barre, Pa., EE.UU.–13 may. 1962, Nueva York, N.Y.). Pintor… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Kline — Kline, Franz …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Franz kline — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Kline. Franz Kline Naissance 23 mai 1910 Pennsylvanie Décès 13 mai 1962 New York …   Wikipédia en Français

  • KLINE (F.) — KLINE FRANZ (1910 1962) Le peintre américain Franz Kline est l’un des principaux représentants de l’expressionnisme abstrait. Selon le critique Clement Greenberg (qui fut l’un des théoriciens influents de ce courant novateur), ses œuvres ont «la… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Franz — /franz, frants/; Ger. /frddahnts/, n. a male given name, German form of Frank. * * * (as used in expressions) Beckenbauer Franz Becker Boris Franz Boas Franz Bopp Franz Brentano Franz Clemens Canaris Wilhelm Franz Karl Franz Josef Chrysander Karl …   Universalium

  • Kline — (Franz) (1910 1962) peintre américain (expressionnisme abstrait) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Franz Kline — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Kline. Franz Kline Naissance 23 mai 1910 Pennsylvanie Décès …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Franz Joseph Kline — noun United States abstract expressionist painter (1910 1962) • Syn: ↑Kline, ↑Franz Kline • Instance Hypernyms: ↑painter …   Useful english dictionary

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