Ten Kate Antique Cobra Drawing Portrait Couple Man Woman Standing Nude Gouache 1950

Ten Kate - Two standing nudes, probably Adam and Eve - oil on paper, 1950s-60s, expressionist style close to the CoBrA movement

Oil on paper signed lower right Ten Kate, depicting two standing nudes facing each other, probably a free interpretation of the Adam and Eve theme, with the figure on the left holding a red fruit in the center of the composition. The bodies are treated in broad, impastoed solids, framed by dark strokes, in a vivid palette of blues, greens, ochres, pinks and reds.

The writing is resolutely expressionist: rapid gesture, thick matter, broken contours, refusal of anatomical detail in favor of the overall tension of the scene. With its pictorial energy and taste for violent colors, the work is clearly in the vein of European expressionism of the 1950s-60s, close to the spirit of the CoBrA movement (Karel Appel, Corneille, Asger Jorn, Alechinsky, etc.) and certain gestural painters of Northern Europe.

Ten Kate emerges here as a protean artist, capable of exploring very free, quasi-abstract figuration. The surname refers to an important line of Dutch painters (the Ten Kate family), and our artist follows in this tradition while adopting a resolutely modern language. Other works by this artist, equally strong plastically, will soon be offered for sale, enabling us to better appreciate the breadth of his production.

Technique and medium
Oil on thick paper. The reverse is smeared with stains and splashes of color, testifying to direct studio work.

Dimensions
Sheet: 19 cm x 15.5 cm approx.
(unframed)

Signature
Signed lower right: Ten Kate.

Dating
About 1950-60.