Yves KleinYves Klein (1928 - 1962) was the most important French artist of the second half of the 20th century. Born in Nice, he spent his formative years studying Judo in Japan for a time, before settling in Paris and beginning to exhibit his work there. Manyof these early paintings were monochrome and in a variety of colors. By the late 1950s, Klein's monochrome works were almost exclusively in a deep blue hue which he eventually named International Klein Blue (IKB). A number of works featured naked models covered in blue paint dragged across or laid upon canvases to make the image, using the models as brushes. Klein is also well known for a photograph, Leap into the Void, which shows him jumping off a wall, arms outstretched, towards the pavement. Read More Read Less