He developed an early appreciation of Rembrandt, German painters such as Lovis Corinth, and the Expressionists Oskar Kokoschka and Emil Nolde.

The modern French and Spanish works he saw in 1926 at the Internationale Kunstausstellung in Dresden were a revelation to him,[1] and he decided that he would leave his native country to prevent succumbing to provincialism.

He visited the south of France, where the landscape inspired him to a close study of the works of Cézanne, and he developed a great interest in principles of harmony and proportion such as the golden section.

In 1929, he married the artist Anna-Eva Bergman and established himself in the French towns of Leucate, and then in the Spanish Balearic Islands, eventually settling in Menorca.

By the late 1950s, he had achieved recognition for his gestural paintings, which were nearly monochromatic and characterized by configurations of long rhythmical brushstrokes or scratches.

He was featured in the 1963 film documentary School of Paris: (5 Artists at Work) by American filmmaker Warren Forma.