The 'Loving Car' was a worldwide sensation at the time. Before the car found its permanent home at the Louwman Museum, it went on a full-scale exhibition tour around the world. Wherever the brightly colored Mercedes appeared, it drew crowds of art and car enthusiasts. To Appel, the car was not a status symbol, but a cheerful, living vehicle meant to spread love and color. Karel Appel also loved taking his art beyond the walls of traditional museums. He painted murals, created gigantic sculptures, and in 1986 saw the Mercedes-Benz 190 as the ultimate opportunity.

CoBrA style

Karel Appel became world-famous as one of the founders of the revolutionary international art movement CoBrA, established in 1948 by artists from Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam. Unlike the art displayed in galleries, Karel Appel’s style was anything but perfectionist or bound by rules. Appel did not look to classical art history for inspiration, but to children’s drawings and folk art. He admired the way children painted with complete purity and spontaneity, without fear of making mistakes.