Franti%C5%A1ek Kupka

Frantiek Kupka , also known as Frank Kupka or Franois Kupka, was a Czech painter and graphic artist. He was a pioneer and cofounder of the early phases of the abstract art movement and Orphic cubism . Kupkas abstract works arose from a base of realism, but later evolved into pure abstract art.

Frantiek Kupka was born in Opono in AustriaHungary in 1871. From 1889 to 1892, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. At this time, he painted historical and patriotic themes. Kupka enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, where he concentrated on symbolic and allegorical subjects. He was influenced by the painter and social reformer Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach and his naturistic lifestyle. Kupka exhibited at the Kunstverein, Vienna, in 1894. His involvement with theosophy and Eastern philosophy dates from this period. By spring 1894, Kupka had settled in Paris there he attended the Acadmie Julian briefly and then studied with JeanPierre Laurens at the cole des BeauxArts.

Source: Wikipedia