Yves Klein and the Making of International Klein Blue
Yves Klein, an influential artist born on April 28, 1928, in Nice, was the son of two creative figures: his mother, Marie Raymond, a notable Art Informel artist, and his father, Fred Klein, a Post-Impressionist painter. After beginning his studies in the early 1940s, he held his first major exhibition in Paris in 1956, presenting a series of monochromatic works that included pink, blue, and gold. Although the initial reception was less than enthusiastic, he later developed the iconic International Klein Blue in collaboration with chemist Édouard Adam. Klein's Blue Period produced over 200 monochrome works before his death in 1962.
Key facts
- Yves Klein was born on 28 April 1928 in Nice, France
- His mother Marie Raymond belonged to the Art Informel movement and his father Fred Klein painted Post-Impressionist landscapes
- Klein met the poet Claude Pascal and the sculptor Arman Fernandez while studying from 1942 at the École Nationale de la Marine Marchande and the École Nationale des Langues Orientales
- His 1956 Paris solo show Yves: Propositions Monochromes featured pink, blue and gold monochromes
- International Klein Blue was developed with the Parisian art supplier and chemist Édouard Adam from dry ultramarine pigment and clear synthetic resin
- The Yves Klein Estate is the only current manufacturer of IKB, which is proprietary but not patented and has never been sold or recreated
- The Blue Period comprised over 200 monochrome paintings and sculptures, numbered after his death by his widow Rotraut Klein-Moquay
- The Anthropometry series began in 1960 with nude models applying IKB to their bodies and pressing them onto canvas
Entities
Artists
- Yves Klein
- Marie Raymond
- Fred Klein
- Claude Pascal
- Arman Fernandez
- Rotraut Klein-Moquay
- Édouard Adam
- Emma Welsh
Institutions
- École Nationale de la Marine Marchande
- École Nationale des Langues Orientales
- Yves Klein Estate
- Yves Klein Archives
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
- Lempertz
- Bailly Gallery
- Staedel Museum
- DailyArt Magazine
Locations
- Nice
- France
- Paris
- San Francisco
- United States