By spring 1894, Kupka had settled in Paris; there he attended the Académie Julian briefly and then studied with Jean-Pierre Laurens at the École des Beaux-Arts.

[4][5] Kupka served as a volunteer in the First World War, and is mentioned in La Main coupée by Blaise Cendrars.

When the regiment set out from Paris for the front in Picardy (they marched all the way on foot) Mme Kupka met the column as they arrived at the La Défense roundabout, near where they lived.

Kupka himself left the front due to frostbite in the foot, caused by nights in the trenches waist-deep in freezing water.

[6] Kupka worked as an illustrator of books and posters and, during his early years in Paris, became known for his satirical drawings for newspapers and magazines.

The same year, Kupka participated in the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, where he continued to exhibit regularly until his death.

[8] Margit Rowell described his painting The Yellow Scale (c. 1907) as "Kupka's first attempt to come to terms with color theory in which the result is both personal and successful".

[10] Around 1910 he began developing his own color wheels, adapting a format previously explored by Sir Isaac Newton[8] and Hermann von Helmholtz.

In March 2021, Kupka's Le Jaillissement II sold for £ 7,551,600 in an auction organized by Sotheby's, so far the highest price for his work.