Reminiscence of a Cathedral

The Art Institute of Chicago (the USA).

Canvas, oil.

Frantisek Kupka developed a unique path to pure abstraction. He combined his interests in Orphism, a branch of Cubism, and focused on colour contrasts as the equivalent of musical heights. At the same time, in his works, there are motifs of Slavic folk art, decorative oriental art and the concept of new scientific inventions, for example, radiography. Theosophy – a synthesis of philosophy, religion and science – largely determined the artist’s approach to painting and graphics. In addition, he studied the stained glass windows of Notre Dame Cathedrals in Paris and Chartres.  Kupka’s desire to capture the sensation of light passing through coloured glass led to the appearance of a number of compositions on the theme of cathedrals. It is no coincidence that the author calls the work “memory” since it is an abstraction.