Lot 48

František Kupka (1871 - 1957) STUDY OF A MAN RESTING IN THE SUN

From the opinion of Rea Michalová PhD: "In the present work, which probably originated as an occasional chamber study in the early years of the twentieth century, in the context of other more "straightforward" figurative depictions, Kupka set up a mirror to the surrounding world with undisguised openness. In my opinion, the creation of the present work should be put in the context of the figurative type of the introverted young man, which contrasts sharply with Kupka's conception of female figures, who are above all the type of the "frilly", enchanting femme fatale. The genesis of this male figure type can be found in the famous painting Biblioman (1896-1897). Although it visually captures the likeness of the painter's friend and poet Hanus Jelinek, it is Kupka's crypto-portrait. The study of a man resting in the sun, convincingly painterly in the sense of colour and reckoning with the play of the sun's rays on the model's body, demonstrates the artist's conviction that it is necessary to "relearn from nature", despite the knowledge that he himself will remain a dreamer." Framed under anti-reflective glass with UV filter.