Despite its short existence (1948–1951), the CoBrA group of artists is considered one of the most important catalysts for the development of art in Europe after 1945. With their ideas about art and society, this association of painters, sculptors, and poets still represents the dawn of a new era today. Founded in Paris in 1948 by Asger Jorn, Christian Dotremont, Joseph Noiret, Karel Appel, Jacques Constant, and Corneille, this European phenomenon brought together a new generation of artists, which later grew to include over 50 participants from 12 different countries. The name CoBrA stands for the hometowns of the founding members: Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam. Together, they developed a new visual language that was free from existing academic conventions. Their ideal design principles included the art of indigenous peoples, the imagery of Norse mythology, drawings formulated with childlike innocence, and the visual elements of folklore. With the revival of expressionism and the departure from the dominant surrealism, the artists reconciled abstraction and figuration in their work. CoBrA stood for the intuitive and spontaneous in art and rejected the existing concept of aesthetics. Beyond 20th-century European art history, CoBrA left behind groundbreaking impulses after its dissolution, with many of its members enjoying great success throughout their lives and achieving international recognition.
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