Šíma Josef

Czech painter, one of the leading personalities of European modern art.

He was born on March 9th, 1891 in Jaroměř and died on July 24th, 1971 in Paris. Josef Šíma studied at the School of Applied Arts in Prague under the supervision of professor J. Preisler, then he moved to Brno. In 1921 he left for France, where he spent almost 50 years of his life, and together with poets such as René Daumal or Roger Vailland they founded the group Grand Jeu. Šíma`s work shows the influence of social civilization and poetism. His paintings and graphics are often described as geometric abstractions with a tendency to imaginative surrealism, he often is described as one of the key figures of Czech Surrealism alongside with Štyrský and Toyen. Frequent elements in Šíma's work include symbols and references to ancient themes.