Frightened Cat (from "Cats serie" series)

Christiaan Karel Appel

"Frightened Cat" is the twelfth of seventeen images from the portfolio "Appel - Cats" from 1978, published by London Arts and printed by Arts-Litho in Paris.

Karel Appel, one of the founders of the important COBRA movement, did a portfolio of lithographs which featured his enigmatic images of cats. These works were all done using abstract, energetic lines, done in bright colors that captured the elusiveness of cats - relegating them to shapes and postures. Even at a great distance most viewers know what he is depicting.

COBRA, which was coined from the initials of the members' home cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels (Br), Amsterdam (A). was based on spontaneity and experiment, and the members drew their inspiration in particular from children’s drawings, from primitive art forms and from the work of Paul Klee and Joan Miró.