Conversation of Eiros and Charmion (From the Series "On the Poems and Writings by E. A. Poe")

Frantisek Kobliha

Basic information

ID: Г-IV-2042
Author: Frantisek Kobliha
Name: Conversation of Eiros and Charmion (From the Series "On the Poems and Writings by E. A. Poe")
Date of creation: 1950–1952
Country: Czech Republic
Technique: lithography
Material: paper
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 39 x 24.5

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: symbolic art
Provenance: Gifted by Czech artists, 1971

Information about author

Author: Frantisek Kobliha
Artist's lifetime: 1877–1962
Country: Czech Republic
Biography: Frantisek Kobliha (1877–1962) was a Czech graphic artist and art critic. In 1910–1912, he headed the SURSUM group, whose members were engaged in artistic, spiritual, and occult practices. The members of the group were considered the second generation of Symbolists. Frantisek Kobliha was also one of the most influential artists and art critics of the Czech publication "Moderni Revue". Kobliha was educated in Prague at the Umprum School of Applied Arts (1896–1899) and then at the Academy of Arts, where he studied painting under Frantisek Zenisek, a representative of the academic painting style. In his creative work, Kobliha abandoned colour for black-and-white tonal variations. He worked in the techniques of lithography, drypoint, and wood engraving. In addition, he worked as a book illustrator. During the 1920s, the artist published works by such authors as Julius Zeyer (1841–1901), Jiří Karasek (1871–1951), Jan Opolsky (1875–1942), Rudolf Medek (1890–1940), and others. Kobliha also worked on bibliographical editions of literary works published by Kamilla Neumannova (1874–1957), often using floral motifs and the story's central figure as a frontal painting. The artist's oeuvre is characterised by an atmosphere of introspection and the creation of imaginary compositions, although his creative heritage also includes realistic landscapes from Czech villages. The main series of works by Frantisek Kobliha: "Simple Motifs" (1908), "Tristan" (1909–1910), a series of landscapes of Prague (1914), a series of lithographs "Fantasies of Moonlight Nights" (1944–1946), etc.

Object description

Illustration for Edgar Allan Poe's philosophical apocalyptic story "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion". A cosmic landscape with planets and cosmic vortices against a dark background. The work is crossed in the centre by the tail of a comet flying downwards.

Inscriptions

The author's mark is at the bottom left: "FK". The signature below the image on the right is "FKobliha". On the left: "C 26 / 26". At the bottom of the sheet on the right in Czech: "E. A. Poe. The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion – lithograph".

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Conversation of Eiros and Charmion (From the Series "On the Poems and Writings by E. A. Poe")

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