Josef Sudek and Photographing of Works of Art
– Predecessors and Contemporaries
Since its origin, photography has been used to depict a variety of artifacts. Starting in the mid-19th century, photographers in the Czech Lands also came to find their métier in this area. At the end of the century, their work became increasingly disseminated via new printing techniques. Alongside luxury photo albums, other channels included science books and popular education editions, and later reproductions would also spread through magazines, posters and postcards. In the 20th century, reproductions were produced both by large companies and independent photographers. The latter included in their ranks Josef Sudek. His extensive estate features reproductions of works of art dating to the early stages of his career as photographer, his subsequent commercial work from the interwar period, as well as his career as an independent artist in the 1950s –1970s. Throughout his life, Sudek revisited the Belvedere summer palace, and repeatedly photographed the space as well as details of sculptural decoration of the St. Vitus Cathedral and the Charles Bridge, also working for artists associated both with the SVU Mánes and in Umělecká Beseda artists’ associations, for preservers of landmarks and monuments and for contemporary architects. Photographs for many book projects would be created over a number of years, in some cases over several decades. Sudek also included works made on commission in publications and exhibitions in which he presented his work as an artist.
Jan Mlčoch is a curator of the photographic collections at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague and the artistic director of the Josef Sudek Gallery, Prague. He has participated on a number of research projects of museum collections as well as the preparation of a number of exhibitions (František Drtikol, Jaroslav Rössler, Josef Sudek, Miroslav Hák, Czech Photographic Avant-Garde 1918 –1948, The Nude in Czech Photography, Czech Photography of the 20th Century, etc.); he is also the author of a number of books and catalogues. Prior to 1989 he held successive technical positions at the National Gallery in Prague, the municipal construction company of Benešov, the National Technical Museum and Odeon Publishers. Active as an artist in the years 1974 –1980, he worked jointly with Karel Miler, Petr Štembera and Jiří Kovanda.