sisters, 1932seated nude, 1920snude profile, 1920s2 women, 1928feny, 1927
czech photograher frantisek drtikol was born in 1883 in the mining town of pribram, west of prague. he studied photography in munich where he was heavily influenced by the art noveau. in 1910 he opened a studio in prague where he shot portraits of some of the most important figures of his day. in the 1920s he focused on expressive nudes reshaping the genre of the classical nude by synthesizing a new aesthetic influenced by silent film, avant garde art, expressive dance and art deco design until he eventually eliminated the live model entirely in 1930. ultimately live models were not always malleable enough to capture his ideas - in the latter phase of his work the figures he introduced became flattened, elongated & stretched, sometimes in rhythmic patterns. his studio in prague was was of the most successful in europe in the 20s and early 30s but abruptly in 1935 he gave up his photographic career to return to painting. he sold his studio and drifted into obscurity devoting himself to mysticism & the seclusion of a hermit's life.he died practically forgotten in 1961.