A rare collection of biblical drawings by acclaimed Czech artist Frantisek Kupka are to go on display at the Paris museum of Jewish art and history.
The Czech painter is better known for his abstract work then for his numerous illustrations of the sacred book ‘the Song of Songs’.
However, Kupka, a symbolist considered as one of the precursors of abstract art alongside with Kandinski and Mondrian, found such great inspiration in the Song of Songs that he spent 25 years improving and enriching his work.
His drawings appear in a 1931 bibliophile edition of the book and 134 of them were bought by the museum.
Music with art
Kupka dedicated his life to research on metaphysics, colour and the transcription of music into art.
The Song of Songs gave him a tremendous field of possibilities to work on.
Experts consider Kupka’s work a master-piece in book illustrating, as he proved to be inventive both with the typography and the luxurious designs.
His drawing synthesises different art forms of the beginning of the 20th century.
The artist’s enthusiasm for the erotic verse was amplified by the fact he started illustrating the book in 1904, the year in which he met in Paris his life-lasting love, Eugenie Straube.
The collection of drawings and watercolours, enlighten the visitors on Kupka’s path and progress throughout his journey into the Song of Songs. It shows the way a masterpiece comes to life.
Another story
Kupka’s song of songs is also a story of another man, the Jewish businessman and art collector Jindrich Waldes. Like Kupka, Waldes was Czech and he admired and befriended the artist.
Waldes purchased the painter’s Song of Songs illustrations before he was deported in 1939 and killed in the Buchenwald concentration camp.
The state confiscated the collection from his family and the businessman’s heirs recovered it only just nine years ago.
The Museum of Jewish art and history purchased very recently the drawings from the Waldes family and it just edited a book about the whole story of Kupka’s Song of Songs.
