Along with Pierre Alechinsky and Constant, Corneille was co-founder in 1948 of the CoBrA (Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam) association of artists, who were united in their desire to break away from traditional Modernism and Surrealism in order to tap into more primal means of expression. “We looked on art as an invincible weapon in the fight for freedom,” Constant later recalled. “We were poor but enthusiastic, and we didn’t care if the public laughed at us.” Black Spring exemplifies Corneille’s free-spirited approach, as he drew inspiration from the impromptu nature of children’s drawings as well as the graffiti he discovered on Paris streets.