Kafka: Metamorphosis of an Author

Ron Fahima, from "The Sea of Mice", 2024

December 2024 - June 2025

Curators: Stefan Litt, Netta Assaf, Karine Shabtai | Exhibition designer and partner-curator: Hadas Ophrat
A new exhibition revealing the life, relationships and works of the author Franz Kafka, as well as his cultural influence. The exhibition also tells the story of how Kafka's manuscripts came to be published, a story that begins before his death and concludes in 2019, with the deposit of his archive at the National Library of Israel. Image: Roni Fahima, from "The Sea of Mice", 2024

To mark 100 years since the passing of Franz 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 books The Trial, Amerika and The Castle, as well as his stories and novellas, including The 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

Visiting the Exhibition

Self-Guided Tours

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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Guided In-Depth Tours

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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NLI Treasures

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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Behind the Scenes: Creating the Kafka Exhibition

Watch the behind the scenes of the Kafka: Metamorphosis of an Author exhibition 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.

In the Media

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

Selected Items From the Exhibition

Kafka's Calling Card

Circa 1906

Item in NLI catalog

Self-Portrait, With His Mother

Likely from Prague, ca. 1911, pencil on paper

Photo by Ardon Bar-Hama

"The Metamorphosis"

Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung), Leipzig, 1915 The first publication of the story, in the Expressionist periodical Die Weissen Blätter (The White Pages)

Letter to Max Brod

Letter to Max Brod about his meeting with the Belzer Rebbe, 1916, ink on paper

Photo by Ardon Bar-Hama

Item in NLI catalog

"Letter to His Father", 1919

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

Item in NLI catalog

"The First Will"

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

Item in NLI catalog

Sketchbook #1, 1923

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

Item in NLI catalog

"The Castle", Manuscript, 1922

Franz Kafka, manuscript page of The 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

Item in NLI catalog

First Edition Cover of "Amerika"

Munich, 1927

Hebrew Notebook, Circa 1920

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.

Item in NLI catalog

"Window of Opportunities"

Sergey Isakov, Window of Opportunities, pencil on art-print paper

From a series of works by Israeli illustrators inspired by Franz Kafka's drawings

View artwork

Sketchbook #2, 1923

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

Item in NLI catalog

Merav Salomon, "Drafts"

Merav Salomon, Drafts, pastel chalk on paper

From a series of works by Israeli illustrators inspired by Franz Kafka's drawings

View artwork

High School Graduation Photo

Graduation photo from the State Gymnasium where Kafka and Hugo Bergman studied, Prague, 1901

Item in NLI catalog

Kafka and Friends

Franz Kafka, Albert Ehrenstein, Otto Pick and Lise Weltsch in the Prater amusement park, Vienna, 1913
Silver print

The National Library of Israel

Item in NLI catalog

Kafka's Last Postcard to Max Brod

Kafka’s last postcard to Max Brod, Kierling (Austria), 20 May, 1924 ink on paper 

Photo by Ardon Bar-Hama

Item in NLI catalog

Events at the Library

A still Photo from the Kafka Exhibition
Gallery Talk

Gallery Talk in the Exhibition “Kafka: Metamorphosis of an Author”

The Metamorphosis of an Archive: On the Arrival of Kafka’s Manuscripts at the National Library

How did a chance encounter in a hallway lead to the deposit of Franz Kafka’s archive at the National Library?    
A gallery talk on the Kafkaesque journey of the archive over the years, culminating in its inclusion in the exhibition marking 100 years since the passing of Franz Kafka.


This Gallery Talk will feature a discussion with Attorney Meir Heller, Legal Advisor to the National Library, who initiated and managed the legal proceedings in Israel, Switzerland, and Germany concerning Kafka’s literary estate and its transfer to the National Library, and with Netta Assaf, co-curator of the exhibition Kafka: Metamorphosis of an Author.


Participants:


- Attorney Meir Heller, Partner and Head of the Litigation Department at A. Landau Law Firm – Legal Advisor to the National Library


- Netta Assaf, Exhibition Curator of the National Library

 

This Gallery Talk is sponsored by Rosalie and Richard Alter, in memory of their dear friend David Kolitz
  • Thursday
  • March 20th
  • 18:30 - 20:00
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