Born at Jaroměř, Šíma is regarded as a world-class artist. To a large degree his oeuvre has been appropriated by the French, in whose country the artist lived for almost fifty years, being granted French citizenship in 1926. In 1909 he attended the Prague School of Applied Arts and then studied at the Academy of Fine Arts (1912−1920) in the studios of Vlaho Bukovac and Jan Preissler. He regularly exhibited in Czechoslovakia although he most lived abroad, where he signed his paintings Joseph Sima. He managed to link the modern French and Czech art scenes, thereby moving the latter in the direction of the new artistic trends such as Surrealism and abstraction. Evidence of this was the unique exhibition at the Prague Mánes gallery entitled Poezie 32, for which he was largely responsible. Many foreign artists exhibited there, including Hans Arp, Giorgio de Chirico, Alberto Giacometti and Joan Miró. His non-figurative paintings often feature the specific symbolism of trees, crystals and cosmic eggs. His works were also influenced by the myths and legends of the ancient world.