Josef Sudek (March 17, 1896 - September 15, 1976) was a legendary Czech photographer. He was born in the industrial town of Kolin, Bohemia, at a time when a Czech nation was just a romantic dream. March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... 1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... This is a list of notable photographers in the art, documentary and fashion traditions. ... Kolín is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic on the Elbe river. ... Bohemia This article is about the historical region in central Europe; for other uses, see Bohemia (disambiguation). ...

Originally a bookbinder by trade, he was badly injured in 1916 during action by the Hungarian Army on the Italian Front of the First World War. He was given a camera afterwards; although he had no previous experience with photography and was one-handed due to an amputation. He learned photography for two years in Prague from 1922, under the tuitition of Jaromir Funke. His Army disability pension gave him some leeway to make art, and he worked during the 1920s in the romantic Pictorialist style, but always pushed at the boundaries of that form - he was expelled from a local camera club for arguing about the need to move forwards from 'painterly' photography. This led to Sudek founding the progressive Czech Photographic Society in 1924. Despite only having one arm, he always used large bulky cameras, managing to work with the aid of assistants. 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... // Ancient and medieval military The Hungarian tribes of Árpád vezér who came to settle in the Carpathian Basin were noted for their fearsome horse-mounted warriors, who conducted frequent looting campaigns throughout much of Western Europe (once as far as Spain), terrorizing the entire population with their long... Clockwise from top: Trenches in frontline, a British Mark I Tank crossing a trench, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after striking a mine at the battle of the Dardanelles, a Vickers machine gun crew with gas masks and a Sopwith Camel biplane. ... Lens and mounting of a large format camera Wikibooks has more about this subject: Photography Photography is the process of making pictures by means of the action of light. ... Prague (Czech: Praha, see also other names) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Jaromír Funke (1896 - 1945) was Czech photographer. ... Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America and in Australia as the Roaring Twenties . In Europe it is sometimes refered to as the Golden Twenties. ... Pictorialism was a photographic movement of the early 20th century which subscribed to the idea that art photography needs to emulate the painting and etching of the time. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

His photography is sometime said to be modernist. But this is only true of a couple of years in the 1930s, during which he undertook commercial photography and thus worked "in the style of the times". Primarily, his personal photography is neo-romantic. Modernism as an artistic and cultural movement that generally includes progressive art and architecture, music and literature emerging in the decades before 1914, as artists rebelled against late 19th century academic and historicist traditions. ... // Events and trends The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... (Disambiguation: you may be looking for Neoromanticism (music) or New Romantic (British pop music)). The term neo-romanticism is synonymous with post-Romanticism or late Romanticism. ...

His early work included many series of light falling in the interior of St. Vitus cathederal. During and after the Second World War Sudek created haunting night-scapes and panoramas of Prague, photographed the wooded landscape of Bohemia, and the window-glass that led to his garden (the famous The Window of My Atelier series). He went on to photograph the crowded interior of his studio (the Labyrinths series). Vitus is a Latin given name meaning lively. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as the largest and deadliest... Prague (Czech: Praha, see also other names) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. ... Bohemia This article is about the historical region in central Europe; for other uses, see Bohemia (disambiguation). ...

His first show in the West was at George Eastman House in 1974. He published 16 books during his life, now affordable to only the richest collectors. 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...

He became known as the "Poet of Prague". Sudek never married, and was always known as a shy and retiring person - he never appeared at the openings of his own exhibitions, and few people appear in his photographs. Despite the privations of the war and Communism, he kept a renowned record collection of classical music. Communism refers to a theoretical system of social organization and a political movement based on common ownership of the means of production. ...

External links

• Gallery of Sudek's work
• Creative Camera article, 1980, with photos of Sudek himself