1930-1940

Violin studies. Travels to Paris, Berlin, Italy, the Soviet Union. Autodidact in painting. Visits Ensor in Ostenede. Travels with Nicolas de Stael. 1935-1938 in Morocco and Spain. In Paris prior to the outbreak of WWII. In Zurich acquaintance with Varlin, who invites him to exhibit with him.
Figurative painting and drawings in which the influences of Utrillo, Rouault and Ensor are evident. Architectural imagery with broken perspectives, fair scenes and Jardin des Plantes poetically removed. His unconventional painting style is rejected by the official Zurich art scene.

1940-1950

Active duty in the Swiss Army 1940-1945. Shortly after the War's end, returns to live in Paris. Acquaintance with Wols and his work which stimulates his own move into Tachisme. During the War Expressionist woodcuts. After the War early figurative work in which the main motifs (Metro Stations, buildings stripped of their facades, butcher shops and Jardin des Plantes) become metaphors for human existence. These early works are already characterized by the dialogue between French peinture and German Expressionism. Layering, buttresses of abstract structures and figurative marks develop into a dynamic characteristic style.