Background
Josef Sudek was born on March 17, 1896, in Kolín, Stredocesky kraj, Czech Republic.
1958
Josef Sudek
1966
the Order of Work by the Czech government
Memorial plaque for Josef Sudek
Sudek's restored atelier in Prague - Újezd
Josef Sudek
Josef Sudek was born on March 17, 1896, in Kolín, Stredocesky kraj, Czech Republic.
Josef Sudek studied photography at the School of Graphic Art in Prague (1922-1923).
After being apprenticed to a bookbinder (1911-1913) Josef Sudek was inducted into the army (1915). While at the Italian front he was seriously injured and later suffered the loss of his right arm. Because of this handicap, he could no longer be a bookbinder, so he turned to photography.
Josef Sudek was awarded the Order of Work by the Czech government in 1966 and received the title Artist of Merit in 1961, the first photographer so honored by the Czech government.
Known for lyrical images that show a fine eye for life's intimate details, Josef Sudek once explained that "everything around us, dead or alive, in the eyes of a crazy photographer, mysteriously takes on many variations, so that a seemingly dead object comes to life through light or by its surroundings. ... To capture some of this - I suppose that's lyricism."
In the Magic Garden, 1954-1959
Memories: Lovers III, A Variation
1964photography
1950Still Life in the Style of Caravaggio, First Variation
1956photography
1960photography
1930Glass Labyrinths
1970In the Magic Garden
1985Shell and Eyeball Arrangement from Memories Cycle
1956Night, Prague
1956Quotations: "There is no approach, no recipe. Each thing has to be done differently."
In 1920 Sudek joined the Club for Amateur Photographers in Prague.
A lifelong passion for music also influenced his life and work.