Josef Čapek (; 23 March 1887 – April 1945) was a Czech artist who was best known as a painter, but who was also noted as a writer and a poet. He invented the word "

robot A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...

", which was introduced into literature by his brother,

Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright, critic and journalist. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel '' War with the Newts'' (1936) and play '' R.U.R.'' (''Rossum' ...

Life

Čapek was born in

Hronov Hronov () is a town in Náchod District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,100 inhabitants. It is known as the birthplace of writer Alois Jirásek. Administrative division Hronov consists of six municipal parts (i ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

(

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, later

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, now the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

) in 1887. First a painter of the Cubist school, he later developed his own playful, minimalist style. He collaborated with his brother Karel on a number of plays and short stories; on his own, he wrote the

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

n play ''Land of Many Names'' and several novels, as well as critical essays in which he argued for the art of the unconscious, of children, and of 'savages'. He was named by his brother as the true inventor of the term ''

''. As a

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

, he worked for ''

Lidové noviny ''Lidové noviny'' (''People's News'', or ''The People's Newspaper'', ) is a daily newspaper published in Prague, the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily still in print, and a newspaper of record. It is a national news daily covering po ...

,'' a newspaper based in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. His illustrated stories ''Povídání o Pejskovi a Kočičce'' (English translation as ''The Adventures of Puss and Pup'') are considered classics of Czech children's literature.

Death

Due to his critical attitude towards

national socialism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequ ...

and

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

, he was arrested after the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939. He wrote ''Poems from a Concentration Camp'' in the

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...

, where he died in 1945. In June 1945 Rudolf Margolius, accompanied by Čapek's wife Jarmila Čapková, went to

Bergen-Belsen Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...

to search for him. His remains were never found. In 1948 the court officially set the date of his death as 30 April 1947.

Selected literary works

*''Lelio'', 1917 *''Ze života hmyzu'' ('' Pictures from the Insects' Life''), 1921 – with Karel Čapek *''Povídání o pejskovi a kočičce'' (''The Adventures of Puss and Pup''), 1929 *''Stín kapradiny'', 1930, novel *''Kulhavý poutník'', essays, 1936 *''Land of Many Names'' *''Básně z koncentračního tabora'' (''Poems from a Concentration Camp''), published posthumously 1946 *''Adam Stvořitel'' (''Adam the Creator'') – with

*''Dášeňka, čili život štěněte'' (''Dashenka, consequently the life of a Puppy'') – with

, illustrated by Josef

Gallery

Image:Josef Čapek Letadlo.jpg, ''Letadlo'' (''Aeroplane'') Image:Josef Čapek, Zpívající děvčata.jpg, ''Zpívající děvčata'' (''Singing girls'') Image:Josef Čapek - Harmonikář (1913).jpg, ''Harmonikář'' (''Harmonist'') Image:Josef Čapek - Krajina v dešti (1928).jpg, ''Krajina v dešti'' (''Landscape in the rain'') Image:Josef Čapek - Kluci s kozou (1936).jpg, ''Kluci s kozou'' (''Guys with a goat'') Image:Josef Čapek - Piják (1913).jpg, ''Piják'' (''Drunkard'') Image:Josef Čapek - Matka s dětmi.JPG, ''Matka s dětmi'' (''Mother with children'') Image:Josef Čapek, Hra.jpg, ''Hra'' (''Game'') Image:AfricanKingCapek.jpg, ''African King'' Image:Josef Čapek Selfportrait.jpg, ''Autoportrét'' (''Self-portrait'')

Literature

* Ivan Margolius, 'The Robot of Prague', Newsletter, The Friends of Czech Heritage no. 17, Autumn 2017, pp. 3 – 6. https://czechfriends.net/images/RobotsMargoliusJul2017.pdf * Marie Šulcová. Čapci, Ladění pro dvě struny, Poločas nadějí, Brána věčnosti, Praha: Melantrich 1993-98 * Marie Šulcová. Prodloužený čas Josefa Čapka, Praha: Paseka 2000

References

External links

* * * *
Bratří Čapkové
(The Brothers Čapek) at LC Authorities, with 6 records {{DEFAULTSORT:Capek, Josef 1887 births 1945 deaths Czech cubist artists Czech people who died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp 20th-century Czech painters Czech male painters Czech male writers Czech scenic designers People from Hronov Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Writers who illustrated their own writing History of robotics 20th-century Czech male artists