František Kupka and the Spiritual Roots of Abstraction

Feature image: František Kupka, Amorpha, The Fugue in Two Colors, 1912 via Czech Center New York

František Kupka stands as one of the most important yet overlooked figures in modern art. While Kandinsky, Mondrian, and Malevich often dominate the story of abstraction, Kupka was creating radical works of pure color and form simultaneously. His career began in the world of Symbolism, characterized by mystical allegories and dreamlike figures, but he evolved into one of the earliest painters to abandon representation altogether. Kupka’s abstraction was not only a matter of form but also a philosophy. He believed that art could reflect unseen spiritual truths, and he built his work on the intersection of Symbolism, science, music, and Theosophy. His paintings invite viewers to see abstraction as both a visual revolution and a spiritual journey.

Kupka was born in 1871 in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. He trained in Prague and later in Vienna, where he absorbed influences from Symbolism and spiritual thought. His early paintings are filled with allegorical figures, cosmic visions, and mythological themes. Works such as The Way of Silence (1900) reveal a fascination with mystery and inner life.

By the time he settled in Paris at the turn of the century, he was already experimenting with a visual language that pushed beyond traditional representation. In The First Step (1909), Kupka painted a scene of a child ascending stairs, but the forms dissolve into dynamic rhythms of color and shape. The painting hovers between Symbolism and abstraction, marking a clear transition point in his career.

Kupka’s background in Symbolism helped him envision abstraction not as a departure from meaning, but as a more profound way to convey forces that cannot be seen directly.

In 1912, Kupka exhibited Amorpha: Fugue in Two Colors at the Salon d’Automne in Paris. The painting features overlapping arcs and waves of red and blue in a rhythmic pattern. It is considered one of the first completely non-representational works in European painting.

At this time, Kandinsky was also working on his first abstract canvases, and Mondrian was beginning to simplify his landscapes into grids. Malevich would soon paint Black Square in 1915. Kupka’s work belongs to this same moment of radical change, but it follows its own path. Rather than geometry or reduction, his abstraction was musical and flowing. The title itself refers to a fugue, a musical form in which voices overlap in complex harmony. Kupka sought to paint sound and rhythm, turning music into pure color.

This moment solidified his place as one of the pioneers of abstraction, although his name never gained the same recognition as Kandinsky or Mondrian.

Kupka’s abstraction was rooted in more than formal experimentation. He studied scientific theories of color and movement and was deeply influenced by philosophy and spiritualism. He read about Theosophy and Eastern religions, which emphasized unseen energies and the unity of all things. He believed that painting could convey truths that transcend the physical world.

In works like Discs of Newton (1911–12), Kupka explored the relationship between color and optics, linking art to the scientific study of light. At the same time, he saw these experiments as evidence of a hidden order in the universe. His paintings merge scientific rigor with a mystical search for meaning.

Kupka’s approach differed from Mondrian’s strict geometry or Malevich’s suprematist reduction. He embraced motion, rhythm, and organic flow. His paintings appear alive, vibrating with energy and cosmic movement. This vision reflects his belief that art could serve as a bridge between material reality and spiritual truth.

Placing Kupka alongside Kandinsky, Mondrian, and Malevich reveals both his shared goals and his unique direction. Like Kandinsky, he believed in the spiritual role of art. Like Mondrian, he sought universality through abstraction. Like Malevich, he pushed toward pure non-objective form. Yet Kupka was distinct in the way he combined Symbolism, music, and science into a lyrical vision.

His works do not aim for strict order or reduction but for a kind of dynamic energy that mirrors natural and cosmic rhythms. In this sense, Kupka anticipated later movements such as Op Art, which explored perception and vibration, as well as abstract painters who embraced fluidity rather than structure.

Although Kupka played a central role in the birth of abstraction, his reputation never fully matched that of his contemporaries. Part of this is due to his independent spirit. He did not align closely with any one movement or group. While Kandinsky became associated with the Bauhaus, Mondrian with De Stijl, and Malevich with Suprematism, Kupka remained outside these circles.

In recent decades, major retrospectives and scholarly studies have helped restore his place in art history. The Centre Pompidou in Paris and other institutions have highlighted his contribution, showing that abstraction was not the work of a single figure but a collective leap forward.

Kupka’s work remains relevant today because it reminds us that abstraction was never solely about formal innovation. It was also about vision, philosophy, and the search for meaning in a rapidly changing world. His paintings continue to resonate with viewers who see abstraction not as cold or distant, but as intensely alive and spiritual.

Kupka’s art raises questions that go beyond his role as a pioneer. His paintings suggest that abstraction can function as both a scientific and spiritual endeavor, a visual experiment, and a philosophical meditation. In today’s art world, where technology and data often drive creative production, Kupka’s vision reminds us of a time when artists sought to bridge the material and the immaterial. His work asks whether abstraction can still serve as a language for inner life, not only for formal innovation. Examining Kupka now invites us to view abstraction not as a closed chapter of modernism, but as an ongoing search for meaning that artists continue to revisit.

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