2024 will mark the 100th anniversary of the death of the famous Czech writer Franz Kafka (1883-1924), whose work inspired readers around the world and had a great influence on literature. The Italian Cultural Institute of Prague celebrates this important anniversary by presenting an original exhibition that aims to explore a lesser-known side of the writer’s complex personality.
Journalist Judita Matyášová and photographer Jan Jindra completely overturn the image of Kafka as a man who was tired of his routine as a clerk and spent his life in Prague, presenting him as a curious young man, interested in a healthy lifestyle, fascinated by modern technology and who loved to travel. The exhibition of photographs by Jan Jindra will present some of the places where Kafka went on holiday or for work. The exhibition includes an important section dedicated to Kakfa’s trips to Italy, where the famous writer could admire aeroplanes in Brescia, dream of working in Trieste, wander the streets of Verona and Venice and spend unforgettable weeks in Merano. Each photograph is accompanied by texts by Judita Matyášová, author of the project The Travels of Kafka, and tells the reasons for these journeys and what traces they left in the writer’s travel diaries and correspondence.
The opening will conclude with speeches by Judita Matyášová and journalist and translator Andreas Pieralli, who will talk about Kafka’s trip to Brescia, where the International Aviation Exhibition took place in 1909.
The exhibition will be open until 21 May 2024.
