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FRANTISEK DRTIKOL (Czechoslovakian, 1878-1961) WHITE SCARF blind stamp "COPYRIGHT DRTIKOL" on the im

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:15,000.00 - 20,000.00 USD
FRANTISEK DRTIKOL (Czechoslovakian, 1878-1961) WHITE SCARF blind stamp  COPYRIGHT DRTIKOL  on the im
FRANTISEK DRTIKOL (Czechoslovakian, 1878-1961) WHITE SCARF blind stamp "COPYRIGHT DRTIKOL" on the image signed and dated "Drtikol 1927" in pencil below image on mount PLZEN 1929 exhibition label on verso of mount "XXVIII" and "frans. Drtikol - Prague II-Vodickora 7. Czechslovakia" inscribed in ink on verso of mount "White Scarf (Pigment)" inscribed in ink on verso of mount customs stamp on verso of mount vintage pigment print mounted on board 11 x 81/2 in. (27.9 x 21.6 cm) mount: 1513/16 x 111/8 in. (40.2 x 28.3 cm) 1927 ESTIMATE: $15,000-20,000 EXHIBITED PLZEN, 1929 The second half of the 1920s was one of the most prolific periods in the history of Czech art. New styles and methods, such as Poetism and Constructivism, spread during the peaceful and thriving time between the wars. However, Frantisek Drtikol did not conform to any of these stylistic movements; he created his own. At this time, Drtikol underwent a transformation, becoming increasingly experimental in minimalism and the manipulation of light. The period in which this piece was created is considered his most successful. Drtikol's compositions of nudes, the subjects of most of his work, were, at this time, often complemented with props, such as the white scarf included in this photograph. His models became less static in pose and, as illustrated here, often appear in the midst of some form of dance. In this composition, a door has opened and light streams in, allowing the viewer to peer into this intimate event. The pictorialist softness of the image is maintained here, but the introduction of the strong side lighting adds a new element of drama. Drtikol's work is no longer solely an aesthetic experience, but becomes a theatrical one as well. It was at this time that Drtikol appropriately stated, "A photographer is a composer of light, searching for melodies that would please the soul, that would find an expression for our feelings" (Vladimir Birgus, THE PHOTOGRAPHER FRANTISEK DRTIKOL, Prague, 2000, pp. 44-45). The lighting reveals the soft plasticity of the model, who is dancing to this "melody," contrasted with the planar quality of shadows cast and the starkness of the interior space. The softness of this pigment print adds to its dreamlike, ethereal quality.