CORNEILLE Guillaume

Co-founder of the CoBrA movement, Corneille (1922-2010) created a sunlit universe inhabited by women, birds, and cats. Discover above his original etchings and lithographs offered by Galerie 125.

Corneille, the Painter of Birds, Women, and the Sun

Painter, engraver, sculptor, and Dutch ceramist based in France, Guillaume Corneille (1922-2010) is one of the founders of the CoBrA movement. After a period of gestural abstraction, he developed a joyful and sensual universe, populated by birds, women, cats, flowers, and radiant suns, making him one of the most popular artists of his generation.

• 1922: born on July 3 in Liège, to Dutch parents.
• 1940-1943: studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam.
• 1948: co-founds the CoBrA group in Paris.
• 1950: settles in Paris.
• 1960s: travels to Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
• 1980s-2000s: major series of lithographs and screenprints.
• 2010: dies in Auvers-sur-Oise, on September 5.

The Birth of CoBrA

Born in Liège to Dutch parents, Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo, known as Corneille, grew up in the Netherlands and studied in Amsterdam. In 1948, he founded the CoBrA movement in Paris with Karel Appel, Asger Jorn, Christian Dotremont, Constant, and Joseph Noiret, named after the cities of Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam. Against the rigor of geometric abstraction, these artists advocated for spontaneous painting, inspired by children's drawings, folk art, and primitive art. Pierre Alechinsky joined them shortly after.

From Abstract Landscape to Colorful Paradise

Settled in Paris in 1950, Corneille first painted imaginary landscapes seen from above, composed of spots and signs, akin to lyrical abstraction. His numerous travels to Africa, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Asia transformed his palette. From the 1960s, his paintings became populated with figures: reclining women, birds with spread wings, cats, snakes, flowers, suns, and stars, in bold colors—reds, yellows, blues, and greens—outlined in black. The woman and the bird became the great symbols of his work, associated with sensuality, freedom, and the joy of living.

A Prolific Engraver

Corneille created a vast number of lithographs, screenprints, and engravings, as well as ceramics and sculptures. His prints, with their vibrant colors, faithfully extend the universe of his canvases. His works are included in the collections of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the CoBrA Museum in Amstelveen, and numerous European museums.

Choosing a Corneille Artwork

• The subjects combining the woman, the bird, and the sun are the most emblematic of his work.
• His signed and numbered lithographs and screenprints capture the full intensity of his colors.
• Their cheerfulness makes them ideal pieces to brighten up a living room, entrance, or bedroom.
• Each artwork offered by the gallery is precisely described and sold with an invoice-certificate.

Corneille at Galerie 125

The gallery offers original engravings from 1987, such as "Femme et Oiseau," "Femme Allongée," or "Le couple en été," and more recent lithographs, "Le chat jaune tigré" or "Séduction aquatique." His favorite themes are found here: the woman, the bird, the cat, and summer. Add your artwork to the cart: it is shipped to you quickly, with tracking, insurance, and certificate. Other CoBrA and color artists to discover: Pierre Alechinsky, Bengt Lindström, and Marc Chagall.

Do you own a Corneille artwork and wish to sell it? Find out how on our Sell an Artwork page.