This year we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Czech painter Frantisek Kupka. This episode introduces Kupka, who spent a substantial part of his life in France and was a pioneer of Abstraction. His work Ballad (Joys of Life) represents his early output based on Symbolism. It shows two naked women riding unsaddled horses and basking in the rays of the setting sun. The painting Amorpha, The Fugue in Two Colors represents an essential work of early abstract art. It was displayed at the Salon d´Automne in Paris as early as 1912. It captures the dynamics of movement while at the same time blurring the difference between the depicted subject and the background.
František Kupka was born in a small town in Eastern Bohemia. He soon showed great promise and with the intercession of a family friend he was allowed to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. After several years he left for the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna where he studied not only painting, but also philosophy, Eastern religions, and spiritualism, and was also interested in mysticism. In Vienna, he met Danish fashion designer Maria Bruhn who became his girlfriend. Together they even made a trip to Denmark. In 1896, Kupka moved to Paris. Soon afterward, Maria Bruhn died, bequeathing Kupka a small inheritance. Thanks to this Kupka was able to rent a studio at Montmartre, but the beginnings were not easy. He made his living mostly as an illustrator for satirical magazines. Kupka’s work underwent a striking development – from Symbolism to Abstract painting.
František Kupka, Ballad (Joys of Life)
1901
Height 83,5 cm x width 126,5 cm
Oil on wood panel
It was in the Symbolist manner that he worked at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The canvas Ballad (Joys of Life) from 1901–2 dates precisely to this period. It depicts two women, unrestrained and very sensuous, riding horses. The horses are unsaddled and even unbridled. The women are basking in the setting sun. These are real characters – two lovers of František Kupka. The blond-haired woman is Danish designer Maria Bruhn, at that time already deceased. The dark-haired woman is the French model Gabrielle. In this painting, Kupka wanted to express the joys of life, the feeling of happiness and bliss. The reverse side of the painting carries a notification mentioning Epona. Epona was a popular goddess in Celtic mythology, often depicted riding a horse. In this symbolist painting, Kupka thus blended his personal story with Celtic mythology. The painting Amorpha is a result of Kupka’s long-term development from figurative to abstract painting.
František Kupka, Amorpha, The Fugue in Two Colours
1912
Height 211 cm x width 220 cm
Oil on canvas
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