Josef Sudek (1896 – 1976)

Josef Sudek was a Czech photographer and is famous for his atmospheric photographs of the beautiful city of Prague. Sudek was originally a bookbinder until he was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army where he served on the Italian war front until he was wounded in 1916. His right hand was amputated due to his war wound yet he became interested in photography and with help from loyal assistants he was able to create photography magic. For two years Sudek studied photography in Prague under Jaromír Funke, a leader of Czech photography in the 20s and the 30s. In 1924, Sudek along with Funke and Adolf Scheeberger founded the Czech Photographic Society. Sudek’s photography style has been labeled as neo Romantic as he often took magical nighttime photographs of the city of Prague and its architecture and landscape photos of the lush forests of Bohemia. Sudek’s first exhibition was at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York state, which is the oldest photography museum in the world. Josef Sudek also published 16 books in his lifetime, which feature his romantic photograph collections. Josef Sudek was nicknamed the ‘Poet of Prague’ and was known as a shy, private person. Today, the photographic studio where Josef Sudek worked and lived serves as a gallery space which goes by the name of the Josef Sudek Studio. Photography exhibitions displaying the works of photographers both past and present are regularly held at the studio.