Lot 29 Dα

In their search for the spiritual, Frantisek Kupka and his compositions of rhythmic forms and colours occupy an important position in the avant-gardes of the early 20th century. As a kaleidoscope of shifting effects of light and chromatic forms and spaces, his compositions from these years strive to achieve nothing less than the depiction of an invisible cosmic order. After an early body of work that was initially figurative in nature, the year 1911 represents the central turning point in his artistic oeuvre, a turn towards the abstract: “Because Kupka saw people as a microcosm of a higher order whose essence reflected those more magnificent rhythms, his transition from the depiction of the human dimension to the cosmic dimension was logical and to be attributed to his faith. 1911 was the year of his transition from the concrete to the abstract image, from the specific to the universal, from the world of phenomena to the noumenal idea” (Margit Rowell, Frantisek Kupka. Eine Metaphysik der Abstraktion, in: Exh. cat. Frank Kupka, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum New York/Kunsthaus Zurich 1975/1976, p. 47).
Our pastel is to be understood as an enthralling representative of these years, which were central to the artist's overall body of work, and it has been prominently exhibited many times.