Josef Čapek's Early Literary Work in the Context of Modern Art

Josef Čapek belonged among those Czech artists who dealt with problems of form and function of a modern art work in the beginning of 20th century. Both theoretical reflections on art and his early fiction represent Čapek's specific approach to the debate about modern and avant-garde currents in the times of stylistically inconsistent situation. This thesis analyses the confrontation of aesthetic principles of these art movements. Its focus is to show to what extent was Josef Čapek influenced by the principles of the individual movements and to describe the way in which he acquired and modified them. The goal is to outline Čapek's path from a survey of modern forms to his own independent viewpoint. Key words Josef Čapek, Modern Art, Manifest Česká moderna, Neoclassicism, Cubism, Expressionis