Josef Sudek

Josef Sudek - A war injury turned a hobby into a vocation

Josef Sudek was born on 17 March 1896 in Kolín, formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and at the age of three he lost his father, a house painter. At a time when a career as photographer was highly unusual, Josef Sudek completed a bookbinder apprenticeship in Prague whilst taking his first photographic steps with an Ica camera in the manageable format of 6 x 9 cm, the most important basics of which he had been taught by a knowledgeable colleague. In 1913, Sudek received a post as a bookbinder In Nymburk and purchased a better model with which to take larger and more detailed pictures. He was called into the military in 1915 and was badly injured in Italy, losing his right arm. He subsequently spent three years in a veteran hospital. During this period of agonising inactivity, he became increasingly involved in photography and finally decided to make it his central field of activity. 

Great success as photographic chronicler of his chosen home of Prague

Josef Sudek went back to Prague, made a failed attempt as a dealer, and finally made friends with the educated young photographer Jaromir Funke who was intensely studying the aesthetics of photography and introduced Sudek to his progressive views and theories. Sudek’s invalidity pension allowed him to follow photography without having to worry about making a living. The photograph of St. Vitus Cathedral earned Josef Sudek much acclaim and established his reputation as a powerful chronicler of the city of Prague. On countless forays through the streets and alleys of the city, the photo artist, who only used plate cameras his whole life, found the motifs that pervaded and dominated his entire oeuvre. At the same time, his photographic development remained as active as he himself; Sudek showed a lively interest in the various stylistic currents of photography and strove himself for an aesthetically sophisticated artistic representation. A large format was important to him that offered him the desired richness of detail and made the production of enlargements unnecessary. 

When in doubt, all great art needs is a window onto a garden

Josef Sudek never married and always lived a shy and secluded life. He never personally opened his exhibitions and usually preferred to capture his motifs without people. In their diffuse lumination, his pictures often seem like scenes from a dream or impressions from a fog-shrouded day. The occupation of Prague by Hitler’s troops put an end to his solitary walks with his camera and Sudek suddenly found himself a prisoner in his own studio. The richly inventive photographer soon discovered his window as an artistic subject and photographed through it day after day, creating a whole series of views onto his garden. These pictures became world famous, and Josef Sudek continued with them long after Prague had been freed and all paths were opened up to him. 

Josef Sudek died in Prague on 15 September 1976.