František Kupka (1871–1957) — Czech avant-garde artist who was a member of many creative associations of artists, tried to write in different styles - cubism, abstractionism, symbolism, but in the end remained true only to himself and his creative vision. However, he was a very enthusiastic and versatile person, seriously interested in the occult and even earned money by conducting sessions to summon various spirits, and he sincerely believed in all this.
Self-Portrait
Kupka was born in the family of a notary's assistant and by idea should have, if he continued his father's work, lived a life of right, but probably somewhat boring, far from creativity, painting and the occult he so loved. But at the age of 14, he became an apprentice to a master who made saddles for horses, and decided to initiate the thin, insecure, and embarrassed by his pockmarked face, the boy to the mysteries of the occult. It turned out that the governor of the town where Frantisek lived was also a member of the local Ouija board. He saw that the boy was good at painting and helped him enroll in the School of Crafts, and later commissioned his own portraits.
Bibliomaniac
After that school František entered the Prague Academy of Fine Arts, which was a direct road to becoming a real artist. But although Kupka studied at the faculty of historical painting, he was bored with the realistic style of painting; symbolism was another matter, as it was an opportunity to capture any ideas and philosophy of the artist with the help of images.
The beginning of life
And to say Kupka was what - a passion for the occult in the end he allowed him to conduct spiritualistic séances and get for it good money, so unlike many other artists, painting for Kupka was not the main source of income. But to become a professional medium, you need to have a certain knowledge and a lot of authority in this area, and moreover, Kupka was not a charlatan, and sincerely believed in the occult and all that happens at spiritualistic séances. Later he also became interested in Eastern philosophy and esotericism.
The Road of Silence II.
But he became more famous as a painter. In Vienna, his fresco “The Last Dream of Dying Heine” was liked by Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria. And further - a matter of technique, all the courtiers and local aristocrats wanted to order paintings from Kupka, although before this about him almost never heard. The fame brought good profits and Kupka plunged headlong into bohemian life. He had numerous affairs with his sitters, who were flattered to deal with a famous artist, albeit with such an unassuming appearance.
The Ballad of Epona. Joy
Kupka started a serious relationship with the fashion designer Maria Brown - they settled together in Paris, but 3 years later Maria died of cancer. Kupka grieved, and then found solace in his model Gabriella. He depicted her in several paintings, including the famous allegorical cycle Money.
Money
However, Kupka did not limit himself to painting in Paris - he drew cartoons, posters, illustrations for newspapers and magazines, and did not consider this artwork as something unworthy of a real artist, the more so because at that time the creation of illustrations were engaged in real masters of their craft.
Wave
Kupka married Eugenia Strob, who left her husband for him, and tried to join the ranks of the Parisian bohemians. He was a member of many artistic societies, but all this was not what he sought. It was necessary to find his own way, to write differently from others. Kupka was very persistent and always adhered to the decision he made, even if it was to the detriment of the artist himself. Thus, he went voluntarily to the front during the First World War, severely frostbitten, returned home, but then insisted on continuing to serve until the war ended. The same with painting - Kupka decided to abandon figurativeness, to go into pure abstraction, even though these paintings were not in particular demand.
Mechanism
By old age, Kupka's character had changed not for the better - he saw enemies and ill-wishers everywhere, it seemed to him that he was always being persecuted, although in fact few people needed an elderly artist at all. His work was praised and then forgotten again, and Kupka was always on the periphery, number two after the most popular avant-gardists. But nevertheless, now for some of his artwork give huge money - over 7.5 million dollars.
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