The first publication of its kind, connecting a constellation of artists working at the forefront of abstraction in the early 20th century

Orphism emerged among a cosmopolitan group of artists active in Paris in the early 1910s, as the innovations of modern life radically altered conceptions of time and space. Engaged with ideas of simultaneity in kaleidoscopic compositions, these artists investigated the transformative possibilities of color, form and motion. Often featuring disks of brilliant color, their work evoked multisensory experiences. When pushed to its limits, Orphism signaled total abstraction. The poet Guillaume Apollinaire, a contemporary, coined the term “Orphism” to describe this move away from Cubism, toward a physically and spiritually transcendent art. His concept referred back to the Greek mythological poet and lyre player Orpheus, whose music thwarted death.

The first in-depth examination of the Orphist avant-garde, this revelatory exhibition catalog contextualizes Orphism, tracing its roots, exploring its cross-disciplinary reach and considering its transnational reverberations across 16 illustrated texts by a multigenerational group of authors from different fields. Incisive essays offer new perspectives, delineating Orphism’s connection to music, dance and poetry, and investigating the historical and cultural circumstances that shaped its ethos. More than 90 artworks in multiple mediums are punctuated by micro-narratives that view select artists through the Orphist lens, presenting original scholarship on well-known figures such as Robert Delaunay, Sonia Delaunay, František Kupka and Francis Picabia while also illuminating lesser-known ones such as Mainie Jellett, Morgan Russell and Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso.