To mark 100 years since the passing ofFranz Kafka, the National Library of Israel is displaying, for the first time, original items from the archive of one the most influential authors of the 20th century and to this day – a writer who was able to brilliantly describe the "Kafkaesque" and often pointless reality of modern life. The exhibition offers an experience that honors Kafka's legacy and invites visitors to make their own way through a literary labyrinth.
Among the items on display are Kafka's famous will, in which he asked to burn all his writings after his death, the accusatory 100-page long "Letter to His Father", original manuscripts of his well-known booksThe Trial, Amerika andThe Castle, as well as his stories and novellas, includingThe Metamorphosis, first and rare editions, personal letters, as well as his own drawings, photographs and Hebrew writing exercises. The exhibition also includes materials that serve to show the massive influence Kafka's work had in Israel and around the world, including adaptations in theater, film, dance and the visual arts.
For the purpose of this exhibition, works were commissioned from eight of the leading illustrators in Israel – Sergey Isakov, Eitan Eloa, Nino Biniashvili, Anat Warshavsky, Addam Yekutieli, Merav Salomon, Roni Fahima and Michel Kichka – who were asked to correspond with the works of Kafka and the figure of the author himself.
The National Library of Israel is one of three institutions worldwide that hold items from Kafka's personal and literary archive. The exhibition "Kafka: Metamorphosis of an Author" will cover his life story, his works, his relationships with his family, friends and loved ones, and will offer a deep examination of his attitudes towards Judaism, Yiddish and Zionism. The exhibition will also trace the fascinating story of Kafka's estate and how his literary works were eventually published by his friend Max Brod. This story begins before Kafka's death and comes to a conclusion in 2019, when Israel's Supreme Court decided that Kafka's archive was a cultural asset that was to be deposited at the National Library of Israel.
"Kafka: Metamorphosis of an Author" is on display in the Helen Diller Family Rotating Exhibitions Gallery at the National Library of Israel.
The exhibition was made possible thanks to the generosity of:
Joyce and Daniel Straus, in honor of Stefanie Gabel and in memory of Jack Gabel and Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus
Dr. David and Jemima Jeselsohn, Zurich, Switzerland
Image: from the exhibition "Kafka: Metamorphosis of an Author", the National Library. Photo: Dor Kami
This ticket grants individual access to to the exhibition "Kafka: Metamorphosis of an Author".
It also grants individual access to the NLI's permanent exhibition, "A Treasury of Words".
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Join a guided in-depth English-language group tour of "Kafka: Metamorphosis of an Author".
Duration: approximately one hour
This ticket does not include access to "A Treasury of Words" (the NLI's permanent exhibition).
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This guided group tour of the NLI's treasures includes the Library's permanent exhibition, "A Treasury of Words", as well as access to our rotating exhibitions, currently -"Kafka:Metamorphosis of an Author".
Duration: approximately 90 minutes
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Watch the behind the scenes of theKafka: Metamorphosis of an Authorexhibition at the National Library of Israel. This short film offers a glimpse into the creative process of curating the rare manuscripts, personal letters, and unique artifacts that bring Kafka’s legacy to life.
On the left - "National Library displays rare Franz Kafka papers brought to Israel" - i24news, Calev Ben-David, December 31, 2024
"Kafka’s Jewishness ‘can’t be extricated from his work’" - JNS, Vita Fellig, December 5, 2024
"Franz Kafka exhibition launched at National Library of Israel" - Jewish News, Michelle Rosenberg, December 5, 2024
"Franz Kafka’s papers metamorphose into National Library exhibit" - The Times Of Israel, Jessica Steinberg, December 3, 2024
"Kafka exhibition in Jerusalem opens doors to the author's inner world" - aurora-israel, December 3 2024
"New Kafka exhibit at Israel’s National Library offers rare glimpse into the author’s personal life, including his Zionism" - E Jewish Philanthropy, Judith Sudilovsky, December 2, 2024
"'Metamorphosis of an Author': Kafka exhibit to open at Israel's National Library" - The Jerusalem Post, Amy Shapiro, November 30, 2024
Circa 1906
Likely from Prague, ca. 1911, pencil on paper
Photo by Ardon Bar-Hama
Franz Kafka,The Metamorphosis(Die Verwandlung), Leipzig, 1915 The first publication of the story, in the Expressionist periodicalDie Weissen Blätter (The White Pages)
Letter to Max Brod about his meeting with the Belzer Rebbe, 1916, ink on paper
Photo by Ardon Bar-Hama
Manuscript (autograph) and typewritten
Kafka wrote this personal letter to his father in the wake of heated quarrels that had flared up between them; it is unclear if he really intended to send it. It is an exceptional composition in world literature. In what was initially one hundred manuscript pages, Kafka reveals his complaints against his father, reproaching him for a lack of sensitivity and lack of understanding of his son’s spiritual and psychological condition. Inter alia, he raises family matters, among them a demand to know its position on Jewish issues and other subjects as well. The version displayed here was typed out, but since Kafka was unable to complete the typing, the end of the letter appears in the handwritten form of the original manuscript.
Photo by Ardon Bar-Hama
Franz Kafka, instructions regarding his literary estate (The First Will), 1921, ink on paper
These instructions, which Kafka wrote when his health had severeley deteriorated, tested his friendship with Max Brod. Brod was unable to obey the instructions to burn Kafka’s writings after his death, because of his conviction of their high literary quality. He assembled most of the manuscripts, drawings and letters, and published almost everything. In so doing, he could be said to have betrayed his deceased friend, but at the same time endowed him with universal renown as one of the most important writers of the modern era. Brod later claimed that he had adamantly refused to fulfil the will while Kafka was still alive.
Photo by Ardon Bar-Hama
Franz Kafka, Sketchbook, 1923 (?), ink on paper, Literary Estate of Max Brod, the National Library of Israel
Except for short literary notes on one page at the beginning of the notebook, written after 1917 or even after 1922, the rest is filled with Kafka’s drawings. The poor condition of the cover indicates how frequently Kafka used the notebook.
The style of the drawings is significantly different to those found on loose leaves, and were apparently done years later. Sections of some pages have been cut out, apparently by Max Brod.
Photo by Ardon Bar-Hama
Franz Kafka, manuscript page ofThe Castle, 1922 manuscript (autograph)
For some unknown reason, this page was torn out of one of the notebooks Kafka used for writing his last novel. The full notebook is preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University.
Photo by Ardon Bar-Hama
Munich, 1927
Franz Kafka, Hebrew notebook (vocabulary lists), ca. 1920, pencil on paper
Kafka’s notebooks for studying Hebrew, beginning in 1917, were full of exercises and vocabulary lists. The one on display includes
both ancient words that he discovered by reading the Tanach (the Hebrew Bible), as well as new contemporary words.
Sergey Isakov,Window of Opportunities, pencil on art-print paper
From a series of works by Israeli illustrators inspired by Franz Kafka's drawings
Franz Kafka, Sketchbook, 1923 (?), ink on paper
Literary Estate of Max Brod, the National Library of Israel
Except for short literary notes on one page at the beginning of the notebook, written after 1917 or even after 1922, the rest is filled with Kafka’s drawings. The poor condition of the cover indicates how frequently Kafka used the notebook.
The style of the drawings is significantly different to those found on loose leaves, and were apparently done years later. Sections of some pages have been cut out, apparently by Max Brod.
Photo by Ardon Bar-Hama
Merav Salomon,Drafts, pastel chalk on paper
From a series of works by Israeli illustrators inspired by Franz Kafka's drawings
Graduation photo from the State Gymnasium where Kafka and Hugo Bergman studied, Prague, 1901
Franz Kafka, Albert Ehrenstein, Otto Pick and Lise Weltsch in the Prater amusement park, Vienna, 1913
Silver print
The National Library of Israel
Kafka’s last postcard to Max Brod, Kierling (Austria), 20 May, 1924 ink on paper
Photo by Ardon Bar-Hama
What would have happened if Kafka had lived for many more years and died of old age? How did a seemingly nondescript clerk become one of the greatest writers of the 20th century? Was his death the best thing that ever happened to him? Kafka’s fascinating character is explored in a new exhibition at the National Library, showcasing the man whose life, work, and death became an inseparable part of the modern human experience.
Despite his romantic and tortured image, Franz Kafka’s attitude towards women had its darker aspects. Who would have guessed that the tangled romantic triangle between Kafka, his fiancée Felice Bauer and her good friend Grete Bloch would produce one of the greatest literary classics of all time?
In his first year at university, Kafka discovered a talent for drawing
Why did the famous writer decide to study Hebrew? And what did he document in the Hebrew notebook he kept?
“I cannot believe I was particularly difficult to manage; I cannot believe that a kindly word, a quiet taking by the hand, a friendly look, could not have got me to do anything that was wanted of me”
On the author’s last days, and some of the last words that he was able to put in writing.
