Robert Delaunay
France (1885—1941)Born in Paris to an upper-class family, Delaunay trained as a theatrical designer until 1903, when he began to paint. After early Impressionist influences, he exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants at the age of 19. He became a leading figure in non-representational painting, initially exploring colour theories and incorporating colour and movement in a Neo-Impressionist manner, and later engaging with Cubism, although his work soon moved beyond a purely formal approach towards a more personal language. His admirer and friend Apollinaire named this approach Orphism. During WWI, Robert and his wife Sonia escaped to Spain and Portugal, where he returned to theatre work and set design. After the war, his work became increasingly abstract, and in 1937 he was invited to work with Sonia on the murals for the Paris International Exhibition, for which he produced Endless Rhythm. He died in 1941 in Montpellier.
