Frantisek Kupka

Prometheus in chains, 1905, Frantisek Kupka

Medium: pencil,ink,paper

Sleeping Face, 1902, Frantisek Kupka

Two grays I, 1928, Frantisek Kupka

The Song of Songs, 1904, Frantisek Kupka

Babylon, 1906, Frantisek Kupka

Woman Picking Flowers, 1909, Frantisek Kupka

Reminiscence of a Cathedral, Frantisek Kupka, 1920, Art Institute of Chicago: Modern Art

Born in Bohemia (in the present-day Czech Republic), Frantisek Kupka immigrated to Paris in 1896, where he lived until his death. Kupka developed a unique path to pure abstraction. He combined his interests in Orphism, an offshoot of Cubism that focused on simultaneous color contrasts as equivalents of musical pitches, Slavic folk art, the decorative art of Islam, and new scientific inventions such as radiography. Theosophy—a synthesis of philosophy, religion, and science—also guided Kupka’s approach to art. Additionally, he studied the stained-glass windows of the Notre-Dame cathedrals in Paris and Chartres. Kupka’s desire to capture the feeling of light passing through colored glass led to a number of compositions on this theme, including Reminiscence of a Cathedral. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Shapiro Size: 59 × 37 in. (149.9 × 94 cm) Medium: Oil on canvas

The Way of Silence, 1903, Frantisek Kupka

Study for "Autumn Sun", 1905, Frantisek Kupka

The Black Idol (Resistance), 1903, Frantisek Kupka

Tango, 1909, Frantisek Kupka