Signed Klein lower right

Gouache on paper

Image size 31,8 x 23,9 cm.

Framed 46 x 38 cm.

Exhibited: Hollandse Aquarellistenkring in Stedelijk 1949

Biography Frits Klein

Friedrich Franz Albert Klein (Bandung Indonesia 1898-1990) was a Dutch figurative painter who spent much of his life in France. Frits  came from a wealthy family of plantation owners on Java. His parents sent him - as was customary among East Indies - to Holland to complete his school years. In 1920 he left for Paris where he studied at the academy of André L'Hote.

Klein was seen in the south of France as a 'sunny' and decorative painter. Painter of the ydille. He moved outside all movements with his lyrical dream world. He used a lot of color in his works. He painted, watercoloured, drew and lithographed landscapes and circus-related subjects. While his friends were influenced by the Cubists, Klein found his sources of inspiration in Monet, Seurat and Matisse. He is known for his frequent depiction of horses and dreamy beach scenes. He starts from a dream of colors from which the motif gradually takes shape reverting to reality.

Klein's work was included in the 1939 exhibition ‘Onze Kunst van Heden’ at the Rijksmuseum & in 1949 in the Stedelijk. On his 80th birthday, the Van Gogh Museum held a retrospective of his work. Klein and his first wife, painter Marie Raymond, were the parents of celebrated painter Yves Klein. His second wife was the English painter Ursula Bardsley.

For Sale Gouache by Frits Klein

See our Art & Food of Watermelon-popcorn inspired by this work (in Dutch)