Frantisek Kupka began his artistic journey in the realm of figurative painting but, over time, gradually transitioned toward abstraction, distancing himself from traditional figurative art. His work was deeply influenced by movements such as Symbolism and Futurism, as well as by the evolving theories of colour and spirituality.
At the Salon d’automne of 1910, Kupka unveiled the painting titled La Gamme Jaune. Today, two distinct versions of this work are known: one, dated 1907, depicts the sitter as he sleeps in his rocking chair (fig. 1), while the other, undated but inscribed “IIe Étude pour La Gamme Jaune” (Second study for La Gamme Jaune) portrays the sitter facing the viewer as he smokes a cigarette in the same chair (fig. 2). La Gamme Jaune is undoubtedly one of the first paintings in which Kupka ses predominantly, almost systematically,uses pictorial agents to have an emotional impact on the viewer. A pivotal work on the artist’s path towards abstraction, the painting ultimately claims the expressive autonomy of colour.
In the vast existing literature on the painting, some scholars have noted physiognomic similarities between the seated man and Charles Baudelaire, particularly as his pose evokes that of the poet in Nadar’s renowned photograph. However, others have identified the artist’s own features in the sitter. In our sheet, the resemblance between the sitter and the artist is so striking that it strongly supports the theory that envisages the painting as a Self Portrait.
Kupka created several preparatory studies for the painting, many of which focused on defining the gesture of the sitter’s left hand (fig. 3). Our sheet presents one of the artist’s initial ideas for the composition, which he later replaced with a preference for a frontal view.
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