Franz Kafka&#39;s paintings were first published on the occasion of the legendary writer&#39;s 139th birthday.

The name Franz Kafka is so famous that it is recognized by the Oxford and Merriam-Webster dictionaries as an adjective: Kafkaesque; just weird, wacky, and absurd, nightmare-like situations that you're desperately trying to beat.
The literary world once breathed a sigh of relif when close friend Max Brod did not follow Kafka's will and burned all of his works, diaries and letters after his death. But it turns out this isn't the only thing Kafka has hidden. Recently, Yale Universiry first published the book "Franz Kafka: The Drawings" 368 pages thick with hundreds of drawings from the author.

Kafka works in the office while writing, and Max says he has another "small talent." From 1901-1906, while studying at Charles University in Prague, Kafka enrolled to study drawing and art history. He continued to paint throughout his short but fierce life, but this was arguably the most brilliant period.
The book begins with the 80-year "true Kafka" journey that these drawings has to go through to reach the public. The first is the author's own destructive wish. He was known to be difficult, even harsher with drawings, burning all the unsatisfactory paintings. Fortunately, Kafka entrusted many works to Maz, who was a promising artist. This friend collected and carefully kept all the paintings Kafka gave him.

After the writer died of tuberculosis in 1924, Max took these drawings with him as he fled to Palestine, away from the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia. During the Suez Crisis of 1956, Max&#39;s archive was moved to Zurich, and was stranded because of an unnecessary technical error. In 1969, when Max died, his secretary Ilse Hoffe retained full control of the papers, and she made sure that interest was protected. During a visit to Israel in 1981, publisher Michael Kruger raved about Kafka&#39;s drawing, but a single glance cost 100,000 Marks (about $51,000).

The National Library of Israel sued Hoffe's heir for fraud after her death. That legal battle has dragged on for about a decade. Ultimately, Max Brod's assets were transferred to the Library with consent from the Zurich goverment.
By the end of 2019, Kafka's paintings are finally available to the public, and it only costs you about 50 USD to see the paintings.
Kafka is known for anger and melancholy, but these drawings show a softer side of the writer. Self-portraits, paintings of loved ones show sensitivity in capturing human emotions. The other characters, wether dignified or assertive, come to life as if out of the page with just a few simple lines.
German novelist Daniel Kehlmann once wrote: "Small people in ink and paper contain so much joy. It's hard to imagine the 'saint' who created these drawings was an unhappy man."

Art Tracking: Franz Kafka

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