Yves Klein (1928-1962) was born to a family of French artists in Nice. In the 1940s, he began to develop his theories on monochromatic art, which eventually led to his discovery/invention of the hue “Klein International Blue”. This would be the signature colour of many of his works, though he also often worked with gold-leaf. A frequent subject in his art is the void. From 1957, he incorporated an open flame into his process to create fire paintings. Additionally, the artist experimented with photography and created a famous photomontage depicting him leaping out of a window. He was also well known for the performance aspect of many of his works, particularly the widely attended artistic events surrounding his “Anthropométries” series, which began in 1958. These involved painted nude models pressing their bodies against a canvas, under the instruction of Klein, while musicians played monotone compositions. He was a founder of the Nouveaux Réalistes group, along with several other artists, including Daniel Spoerri, Arman, and Jean Tinguely. In Paris at the age of 34, he suffered an untimely death due to a heart attack.