Art - Robert Delaunay

Robert Delaunay was the son of a aristocratic parents, he was brought up by his uncle, Charles Damour. At school he learned not much, his spelling was worse throughout his life, for example. Delaunay had aspirations to become a painter and took lessons at the decor studio of Rosin in Paris.
Painting was a subject which appealed to him and he exhibited in the Salon des Independants and the Salon d'Automne. He was befriended with Henri Rousseau and Jean Metzinger around that time, those figures influenced Delaunay.
From 1907, Delaunay had to serve in the army, but was dismissed early because of his bad health. He met his wife in 1909, Sonia, they married in 1910 and she gave birth to a son in 1911. Sonia Delaunay was also a gifted artist. Robert Delaunay painted his famous series of Eiffel towers around that time.
Wassily Kandinsky asked Delaunay to exhibit four of his works at the exhibition of Der Blaue Reiter in Munich in 1911. He was also befriended with Apollinaire and Marc Chagall by that time.
Delaunay developed a new style around 1912, which Apollinaire called 'orphic cubism' and it's seen as his total abstract mature style. He met August Macke, Franz Marc and the young Paul Klee in 1912. This shows Delaunay's influential position as an artist in those days.
Robert, Sonia and their son Charles Delaunay moved to Spain, because Charles was sick and they thought the Southern climate would do him good.
The Second World War broke out and the Delaunay family stayed in Spain and later in Portugal. After their business in Lissabon, they moved back to Madrid, where Diaghilev provided them a job. More orders followed and they also came in touch with the dadaists in Paris. When the family moved back Paris, they became friends with the dadaists and surrealists.
Robert had a little subsidence of productivity from 1922, but began to paint more and more from 1930. He devoted himself to total abstraction, which can be seen in the 'Rhythmes sans fin'.
Together with his wife, he decorated the Pavillion de l'Air and the Pavillion des Chemins de Fer at the Exposition des Universelles in 1935. After this event Delaunay's health began to weaken.
They moved to the south of France, where Hans and Sophie Arp became close friends.
Robert Delaunay died in Montpellier in 1941