 frantiÅ¡ek kupka (september 23, 1871 &ndash; june 24, 1957), also known as frank kupka or franÃ§ois kupka, was a czech painter and graphic artist. he was a pioneer and co-founder of the early phases of the abstract art movement and orphic cubism (orphism). kupka's abstract works arose from a base of realism, but later evolved into pure abstract art. ==biography== ===education=== frantiÅ¡ek kupka was born in opoÄno, eastern bohemia (now czech republic) 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 (1851â1913) and his naturistic life-style. 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 acadÃ©mie julian briefly and then studied with jean-pierre laurens at the Ãcole des beaux-arts. ===career=== thumb|left|amorpha, fugue en deux couleurs (fugue in two colors), oil on canvas, 210 x 200 cm, 1912, narodni galerie. kupka worked as an illustrator of books and posters and, during his early years in paris, became known for his satirical drawings for newspapers and magazines. in 1906, he settled in puteaux, a suburb of paris, and that same year exhibited for the first time at the salon d'automne. kupka was deeply impressed by the first futurist manifesto, published in 1909 in le figaro. kupka's 1909 painting piano keyboard/lake marked a break in his representational style. his work became increasingly abstract a
1871_births 1957_deaths Abstract_artists Academy_of_Fine_Arts,_Prague_alumni Anarchist_artists Czech_graphic_artists Czech_painters LA(c)gion_d\'honneur_recipients Orphism People_from_OpoAno