František Kupka

Mr. and Mrs. Georges E. Seligmann (acquired from the artist in 1955)
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, 12 May 1999, lot 358
Purchased at the above sale

Prague, Galerie S.V.U. Mánes, František Kupka, 1946, no. 149 (as Divertissement II)
New York, Rose Fried Gallery, Kupka, 1953, no. 4 (as Divertissement II, 1935)
New York, Galerie Chalette; Cinncinnati, Contemporary Arts Center; Chicago, Arts Club of Chicago; Minneapolis, Walker Art Center, Construction and Geometry in Painting; from Malevich to 'Tomorrow', 1960-61, no. 4
New York, Sidney Janis Gallery, The Classic Spirit in the 20th Century, 1964, no. 9
New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, František Kupka, 1851-1957, A Retrospective, 1975-76, no. 181, illustrated in the catalogue

Jiří Hlušička, The Hascoe Collection of Czech Modern Art, Prague, 2004, p. 26, mentioned; p. 193, no. P46, catalogued; p. 175, pl. 161, illustrated

This condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar Ltd. Fine Art Conservation, 14 Masons Yard, Duke Street, St James's, London SW1Y 6BU. UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Structural Condition The painting is unlined and securely attached to the original wooden keyed stretcher. The canvas is slightly slack and there are some gentle undulations to the canvas. There is a fairly heavy and extensive pattern of craquelure throughout the paint surface, some areas of which require localised consolidation, in particular the areas which correspond to the central vertical stretcher-bar. Paint surface The paint surface has a relatively even and slightly glossy varnish layer. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows a number of areas throughout the composition that fluoresce slightly, but these appear to be the nature of the artist's materials and techniques. Inspection under ultra-violet light also shows some small areas of retouching. These areas are: 1) a thin line to the left of the black circle in the upper right corner of the composition, which measure approximately 2 cm in length, 2) some small intermittent spots of retouching along the right hand framing edge, 3) intermittent retouchings along the lower horizontal framing edge, in particular in the lower right corner, and 4) one small spot on the right hand side of the pink semi-circle in the lower right of the composition. Summary The painting therefore appears to be in reasonably good and stable condition and would benefit from localised consolidation of any areas of fragile craquelure. The painting could also be treated on the low pressure conservation table to reduce the raised appearance of the overall craquelure pattern.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Painted in 1935, Divertimento II is an expression of Kupka's love of music which he had explored in his art as early as 1909 in works such as Piano Keys: The Lake (Prague, National Gallery), and explores the inner analogy between art and the music. The title of the work, literally 'amusement', refers to a type of light-hearted musical entertainment popularised in the eighteenth century and played at social functions and events, and indeed the painting is an almost mesmeric rhythm of shapes, colours, and what could be read as dancing figures.

But despite its ornamental qualities, Divertimento II also contains more ominous philosophical elements, turning the very meaning of 'amusement' on its head. On closer reflection, the dancers become automaton workers toiling in a futuristic factory, their limbs extensions of the cogs and levers they operate. The rhythm is that of repetitive work of the machine age. Human beings are no more than drones dancing to the hum of rotating discs and axles that are the war machine.

On a deeper level, Divertimento II reflects the scientific basis for so much of Kupka's work. The composition has the qualities of a microscope slide seen at high magnification and showing the very building blocks of the material world, like some of the works of Kupka's contemporary, Wassily Kandinsky (fig. 1). In this light, the discs can be read as cells, interconnected by the threads of matter itself, underlining the fundamentally conceptual nature of Kupka's aesthetic.

Fig. 1: Wassily Kandinsky, Fixed Flight, 1932, Adrian Maeght Collection, Paris © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2011