Pafama (Seissel)

Pafama
Artist	Josip Seissel
Year	1922 (1922)
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	17 cm × 17 cm (6.7 in × 6.7 in)
Location	Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb

Pafama, short for Papierfarbenmalerei, is a 1922 painting by Croatian painter Josip Seissel.^[1] This painting is the first known abstract composition in Croatian art.^[2] It is currently in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb.^[1]

Name

Word Pafama is an abbreviation of the German PApier-FArben-MAlerei, (German: Paper, color, painting) which is a word from zenitism vocabulary, meaning that the artist focuses on the painting process and materials, a radical approach at the beginning of the third decade of the 20th century.^[3]

Description

This is a square painting of small dimensions whose center is dominated by multi-colored geometric elements on a black background. It is based on the principles of suprematism and is reduced to primary geometric shapes - triangle, rectangle, polygon and cone. In addition, it is reduced to the primary colors - red, yellow, blue and their derivatives which are projected on a black background.

The painting is characterized by structural imaging techniques and is synonymous with European avant-garde art at the time. The painting marks the appearance of avant-garde art in Croatia and leaves lasting effects on the Croatian art in the 20th century and especially in the 1950s and 1960s, when neo-constructivism trends were formed.^[4] Its size is 17x17 cm.

References

1. "Pafama, Josip Seissel". europeana.eu. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
2. Pafama|Josip Seissel, europeana.eu
3. HRVATSKA LIKOVNA UMJETNOST - JOSIP SEISSEL, PAFAMA, posta.hr
4. "Josip Seissel". avantgarde-museum.com. Retrieved 22 April 2016.