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Josef Šíma (18 March 1891 – 24 July 1971) was a Czechoslovak modernist painter.
the-artists.org entry
1891 births 1971 deaths People from Jaroměř Czech surrealist artists 20th-century Czech painters Czech male painters 20th-century Czech male artists {{CzechRepublic-painter-stub
Josef Šíma (18 March 1891 – 24 July 1971) was a Czechoslovak modernist painter.
Biography
After graduating from Academy of Arts inPrague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
where he was the student of Jan Preisler he was involved in the Devětsil movement and in Umělecká beseda in Prague before travelling to Paris in 1921. He took French citizenship in 1926. He was artistic director for the journal ''Le Grand Jeu'' in 1929 and friend of French poets René Daumal
René Daumal (; 16 March 1908 – 21 May 1944) was a French spiritual para-surrealist writer, critic and poet, best known for his posthumously published novel '' Mount Analogue'' (1952) as well as for being an early, outspoken practitioner of ...
, Roger Gilbert-Lecomte and Roger Vailland.
Style
His sources of inspiration spanned from sensual experience, through civil themes,geometric abstraction
Geometric abstraction is a form of abstract art based on the use of geometric forms sometimes, though not always, placed in non-illusionistic space and combined into non-objective (non-representational) compositions. Although the genre was pop ...
, imaginative seeking of archetypes of nature, things and human existence pictured as crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macr ...
s, cosmic egg
The world egg, cosmic egg or mundane egg is a mythological motif found in the cosmogonies of many cultures that is present in Proto-Indo-European culture and other cultures and civilizations. Typically, the world egg is a beginning of some sort, ...
and female torso
The torso or trunk is an anatomical term for the central part, or the core, of the body of many animals (including humans), from which the head, neck
The neck is the part of the body on many vertebrates that connects the head with the tors ...
s to fascination by landscapes and mythology, until he finally united all these elements and made a synthesis of them in cosmic visions and symbols of human destiny.
He exhibited at documenta
''documenta'' is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany.
The ''documenta'' was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultura ...
2 in 1959. He also illustrated many books, made book covers, scenic painting
Scenic may refer to:
* Scenic design
* Scenic painting
* Scenic overlook
* Scenic railroad (disambiguation)
* Scenic route
* Scenic, South Dakota, United States
* Scenic (horse), a Thoroughbred racehorse
Aviation
* Airwave Scenic, an Austrian ...
s and designed stained glass windows (e. g. in The Church of St Jacques in Reims
Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded ...
).
External links
the-artists.org entry
1891 births 1971 deaths People from Jaroměř Czech surrealist artists 20th-century Czech painters Czech male painters 20th-century Czech male artists {{CzechRepublic-painter-stub