Yves Klein

French, 1928–1962. French conceptual artist, Yves Klein, achieved international acclaim in a short period of fifteen years before succumbing to an untimely death after living a turbulent life for 34 years. However, his wide-ranging oeuvre of work is considered to have significant pieces equivalent to any other artist who lived a relatively long life. Klein is best remembered for his monochrome series in vivid shades of Blue, a style of painting that contradicted with the pop art and abstract expressionist of the times. He is also the co-founder of the Nouveau Realisme movement. In the 1950s, Klein developed and patented the International Klein Blue, his own signature hue. He used this color to create his seminal work Anthropométries, where nude models used their bodies as living brushes to paint on canvases.