Royal Portrait

'African King' as a manifestation of Čapek's interest in the art of natural nations

African King (1920) by Josef ČapekNational Gallery Prague

'African King'

In his work, Josef Čapek drew inspiration from synthetic cubism, using its composition principles.

The black king is a frontal stylised figure compiled from geometric shapes and imitations of real structures...

...that are complemented with several more realistically rendered objects, for example a pipe.

Similar to the sailors, the king evokes exoticism, adventure, and unknown worlds, which is connected with Čapek’s theoretic interest in the art of natural nations.

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