Kupka, Frantisek (1871-1957), Czech painter, who was one of the originators of abstract art. His early work showed a preoccupation with expressive distortion and unusual, often unrealistic, color.

From 1911 to 1912, at the same time as the French painter Robert Delaunay, Kupka painted his first completely abstract works, such as Amorpha: Fugue in Two Colors (1912, Národní Galerie, Prague), consisting of colored circular forms and lines in a rhythmic arrangement. He continued his experiments in abstraction, grouping his work into five broad categories—Cycles, Verticals, Verticals and Diagonals, Triangles, and Diagonals.

Not as influential as other abstract painters, Kupka did not receive deserved recognition until after his death.