Panel discussion – Images of the Grotesque and Arabesque: The Discovery of Kafka’s Drawings

The Leo Baeck Institute London and the German Historical Institute London have the pleasure of warmly inviting you to a discussion of the book Franz Kafka: The Drawings (Yale University Press, 2022) with the author and editor Prof Andreas Kilcher (ETH Zurich, CH) and Prof Nicholas Sawicki (Lehigh University, USA), chaired by Dr Daniel Wildmann (Leo Baeck Institute London, UK).

Images of the Grotesque and Arabesque: The Discovery of Kafka’s drawings

6.30pm UK time, June 16th 2022

Over 100 completely unknown drawings by Franz Kafka of fascinating figures, shifting from the realistic to the fantastic, the grotesque, the uncanny and the carnivalesque have been made accessible in Prof Andreas Kilcher’s highly acclaimed book Franz Kafka: The Drawings.

The drawings illuminate a previously unknown side of the quintessential modernist author. Three fascinating stories can be told about Kafka’s drawings: the story of their transmission, the story of Kafka as a draftsman, and the story of his drawing in relation to his writing.

We are looking forward to welcoming you at the German Historical Institute London, 17 Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2NJor online via Zoom https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88690122832?pwd=bUl3N2RWTlViaGRpWnJveGdYSTJWdz09. If you have any difficulty joining us on the night, please contact volunteer@leobaeck.co.uk and a member of staff will be able to assist you.

Admission is free but places must be reserved in advance by contacting info@leobaeck.co.uk. Please also let us know how you wish to attend.