The most expensive Kupka painting is exhibited for two days at the Opočno Castle grounds

Opočno (Rychnovsko) – Dozens of people attended the opening of the exhibition of František Kupka's painting Plochy příčné II at the castle complex in Opočno today. It will be on display for just two days, after which it will return to a private collection. In May, the painting was sold at auction for 78 million crowns, setting a new record for Czech auctions. In the future, however, the public may have the opportunity to see it, said Milan Dospěl from the Kodl Gallery, which auctioned the piece and helped with its exhibition in Kupka's birthplace.

"It can be assumed that the painting will be loaned for Kupka’s significant exhibitions, retrospectives, and so on, so people will see it again," Dospěl stated. According to information from ČTK, the work is owned by Czech collectors.

The two-day exhibition is accompanied by strict security measures. The painting was brought by a professional transport agency specializing in the transportation of artworks, and everything was overseen by a security service. The painting is protected by a plexiglass cover and is under constant surveillance. People can approach it gradually in limited numbers, resulting in a long queue in the exhibition hall of František Kupka and Luboš Sluka.

The painting is counterpart to the painting Plochy příčné I, which has almost the same format and is part of the collection of the National Gallery in Prague. Intersecting diagonal vertical and horizontal planes were a favorite compositional theme for Kupka.

Plochy příčné II from 1923 is one of the most important works of Kupka's oeuvre and an example of the progressive visual language through which Kupka significantly outpaced the development of world painting. He painted it in France and dedicated it to his friend in Prague in 1946 for his help with a retrospective exhibition at the Mánes in Prague. In 1968, it was part of a major Kupka exhibition at the Valdštejn Riding School, then it vanished from public awareness and was not seen for 50 years. It was still owned by the family of the original owner until the auction when it was sold on May 26, 2019.

"The painting has immense power. It is one of František Kupka's key works," stated art historian Anna Strnadlová from the Kodl Gallery. According to her, the work speaks differently to each viewer, with its colors, abstraction, and a sort of levitation of forms.

Together with Vassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and Fernand Léger, Kupka is considered one of the founders of abstract painting. He was born in 1871 in Opočno but spent most of his life in France, where he also died in 1957.