Josef Sudek

(Czech, 1896–1976)

Josef Sudek was a Czech photographer best known for his elegiac black-and-white images of Prague, interiors, still lifes, and the landscapes of Bohemian forests. Many of Sudek’s most memorable images were taken from the window of his small studio, documenting his humble courtyard during changing weather and light conditions. “Everything around us, dead or alive, in the eyes of a crazy photographer mysteriously takes on many variations,” he explained, “so that a seemingly dead object comes to life through light or by its surroundings.” Born on March 17, 1896 in Kolín, Czechoslovakia, Sudek originally worked as a bookbinder before serving in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War, when he was wounded and subsequently lost his right arm to amputation. Undaunted, he began to study under the photographer Jaromir Funke and grew into an influential figure of the medium. Sudek passed away on September 15, 1976 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Today, Sudek’s works can now be found in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, among others.