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Dynamism

A work made of charcoal and white pastel, with stumping, with touches of black pastel, on gray laid paper with fibrous inclusions.
© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

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  • A work made of charcoal and white pastel, with stumping, with touches of black pastel, on gray laid paper with fibrous inclusions.

Date:

c. 1912

Artist:

Frantisek Kupka
Czech, 1871-1957

About this artwork

Kupka wished to explore the laws of the universe and the underlying cosmic order, which he imagined as a “kaleidoscope of changing light, color forms and space.” This drawing is part of a series exploring these ideas; dark shapes explode and unfold on the page while the debris from this universal force appears to float on the surface. As the eye attempts to make sense of the dense network created between the layered charcoal lines and delicate white shapes, one gets the sense of peering into the unknown.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

František Kupka

Title

Dynamism

Place

Bohemia (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1907–1917

Medium

Charcoal and white pastel, with stumping, with touches of black pastel, on gray laid paper with fibrous inclusions

Inscriptions

Signed recto, lower right, in black pencil: "Kupka"; inscribed verso, upper right, in graphite: "28" [encircled]

Dimensions

30.6 × 33.6 cm (12 1/16 × 13 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection

Reference Number

2013.965

Copyright

© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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