Procession 1905

Frantisek Kupka’s Procession, of indeterminate date, is an ink drawing on paper, with dimensions of 33 by 38 cm. The ink is applied in dense, scribbled marks, which create a theatrical scene, full of strange characters. I wonder what it was like for Kupka to render it, thinking and rethinking these figures and their gazes. The nude woman, probably Euphoria, is holding a shawl. Her expression is almost vacant, and the ink is used to highlight her figure against a series of distorted or macabre onlookers. Note the simian figure on the right –– the texture of the fur is achieved by incredibly thin, hatched marks. I’m reminded of Ensor's grotesque figures and the tradition of the macabre in art. Kupka might have been in conversation with these artists of the past, taking inspiration from their aesthetics and themes. It feels like each artist is somehow present in each other’s work. Painting is, after all, a form of embodied expression, which opens itself to multiple meanings.