The Way of Silence

By Jonathan Shih

The Way of Silence, circa 1903. Painted by František Kupka (1871–1957).

This is a profoundly atmospheric Symbolist work that evokes a meditation on solitude, memory, and the metaphysical passage of time. A solitary figure moves slowly along a nocturnal avenue flanked by monumental stone sphinxes, whose repeated, silent forms suggest both guardianship and the weight of eternity. Bathed in cold, silvery light beneath a star filled sky, the scene dissolves the boundary between architecture and dream, transforming the landscape into an interior, psychological space. The painting reflects Kupka’s early spiritual and philosophical preoccupations and anticipates his lifelong search for deeper, immaterial realities beyond the visible world.