Untitled, 1997

Franz Kline was an American painter. He studied both illustration and painting. He incorporated both of these art forms into his distinct works of large black and white paintings. If you were to take a quick glance at one of his paintings, it would remind you of Japanese calligraphy. At first, Kline was a realist painter. He admired the works of Rembrandt.

After his arrival in New York, Willem de Kooning introduced him to abstract painting. Franz Kline became mainly associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 1950s. Monochromatic paintings of using two contrasting colors with wide brushstrokes were the recognized style of Kline's works. He was asked by art patrons why did he only use black.

He replied, "People sometimes think I take a canvas and paint a black sign on it, but this is not true,the white is painted as well as the black, and it is just as important." He used thick layers of paints to form his signature aggressive and energetic lines.His gestural pieces, such as Nijinsky and Mahoning reflected this style. His style differed from his peers. Kline did not use their spontaneous mark-making method. First, Kline sketched his ideas. Sometimes, he used pages from a phone book for his sketches. Then, he calculated his compositions. The end results were energetic abstractions that produced a feeling of movement. Even though, Kline explored the same innovations as other Abstract Expressionists, his work is unique in the Abstract movement, and it has been revered since the 1950s. He has influenced other Abstract artists.