Watercolor over pencil on thin illustration board, 1905. 430x610 mm; 17x34 inches. Signed, titled, dated "25/V 1905" and inscribed "La Plume--Paris" in pencil, lower margin.
Born in Eastern Bohemia in 1871, Kupka arrived in Paris in 1896. He supported himself, like many artists of the day, making illustrations for popular magazines. This political cartoon, which might refer to the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05 and France's neutrality in the conflict, was made for the Parisian publication La Plume.
