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34

JOSEF SUDEK (Czechoslovakian, 1896-1976) BREAD AND GLASS various notations in pencil in the arti...

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JOSEF SUDEK (Czechoslovakian, 1896-1976) BREAD AND GLASS various notations in pencil in the arti...
JOSEF SUDEK (Czechoslovakian, 1896-1976) BREAD AND GLASS various notations in pencil in the artist's hand on verso vintage pigment print on woven paper 6 1/16 x 4 9/16 in. (15.4 x 11.6 cm) 1951 PROVENANCE Sotheby's NEW YORK, April 23, 1994, Sale Number 6551, Lot 291 Private Collection, SWITZERLAND LITERATURE Cornell Capa, ed., INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHOTOGRAPHY, New York, 1984, p. 498 (illustrated, image inverted) Zdene?k Kirschner, JOSEF SUDEK, New York, 1993, pl. 180 (illustrated, image inverted) In this intimate nature morte, Sudek forces his viewer to examine the simplest of objects; objects we normally dismiss due to their banality. Bread and water, however, together provide the elemental sustenance that keeps us alive. Sudek clearly understands this and celebrates their symbolism as the essence of life. The pigment process used to create this print demonstrates Sudek's yearning for the "old way," perhaps in reminiscence of a time before World War I, during which he had lost his arm and had to give up his plan to become a bookbinder. The composition, however, portrays an almost modernist approach. Every element is in high focus, allowing the viewer to appreciate the grain of the wood, the leftover drops of water and the strength of the shadows. In a conversation with Anna Fárová, Sudek states: "I believe that photography loves banal objects, and I love the life of objects" (Fárová, "Josef Sudek," JOSEF SUDEK: PIGMENT PRINTS, New York, 1998, p. 35). This print was made using the complex and arduous pigment process, a technique Sudek reserved for only his most special negatives, due to his limited supply of carbon tissue. The woven texture of the paper on which this image was printed also demonstrates that this was one of Sudek's favorite negatives, since this paper was also in limited supply. The pigment process is considered permanent, but Sudek, as he did here, would give "some of his pigment prints a layer of lacquer, as though desperately trying to preserve a fragile photographic image from the destruction of time" (Fárová, JOSEF SUDEK, Munich, 1999, p. 108). It is this layer of lacquer that gives this print its glossy sheen.
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