Member-only story
The Brief But Extraordinary Life of One of Art’s Most Intriguing Artists
Revolutionising the act of creativity
Some artists take years to mature; others seem to arrive fully formed.
Yves Klein falls distinctly into the second category. He did not have the luxury of decades to unfold his artistic self. His short life confers a sense of completeness over his body of work that was rich from beginning to end.
What sets Klein apart, even among conceptual artists, is how each artwork possesses a clear moment of aesthetic character and artistic independence. He was avant-gardism at its most exciting.
As a result, whenever I think about Yves Klein — aside from an admiration for what he did — I can’t help but wonder: where was this brilliant artist going to next?
The beginnings of blue
Klein was born in the south of France in 1928 and grew up near the French Riviera town of Nice. Beloved of Chagall, Picasso and Renoir, Nice is a Mediterranean city that glows with old-world affluence. Henri Matisse made the town his home for much of his adult life.
The young Klein spent days with his friends, yearning for the adventure of travel, creation and worldly spirituality. As a teenager, they would lie on the long pebble…
