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Signed lower right “J. Sima 61”.
Sizes:
Artwork: 60 × 73 cm | 23.6 × 28.7 in
Josef Šíma’s Poésie de la lumière (1961) is a meditation on the metaphysics of light — a lyrical abstraction where geometry, color and space disappear into pure sensation. The painting shifts between blues, gold and white, as if light was passing through crystal air. Each form vibrates with inner movement, Šíma’s lifelong fascination with the spiritual in art.
Oil on canvas, this is Šíma’s mature period when his art went beyond Surrealist symbolism to the harmony of the cosmos. Here structure and intuition merge, precise and poetic, disciplined and ethereal. The soft gradients and geometric patterns are architecture and dream, inviting the viewer into a space of energy and balance.
Poésie de la lumière is one of Šíma’s most beautiful statements on the unity of matter and light. It’s his idea that painting should not show the visible world but its essence — a silent, luminous poetry that connects the physical and the infinite.
Alternative spelling: Joseph Sima.
Private Collection, Germany,
Acquired from the above by the current owner.
Good vintage condition with some signs of wear. Unframed.
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Josef Šíma was one of the biggest names in modern Czech art and a key figure of the European avant-garde. Studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Šíma moved to Paris in the 1920s where he befriended poets and artists of the Surrealist and abstract movements. His early work was influenced by cubism and symbolism, later evolving into lyrical abstraction searching for metaphysical light and cosmic harmony.
Šíma’s art went beyond the material to express a deep spiritual vision. Through colour fields and ethereal compositions he wanted to reveal the invisible forces of nature and existence – what he called “poésie de la lumière”. His paintings are a meditative dialogue between matter and mystery, science and transcendence, so he is one of the most poetic abstract artists of the 20th century.
As Šíma’s market reaches new heights, Aurora & Athena explores his artistic journey, legacy, and record-breaking auction history, culminating in the rare offering of this poetic work in our November 8, 2025 Fine Art Auction.
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