Woman, Photogravure, František Drtikol, 1925

This photograph of a nude woman posed with geometric forms was taken in 1922 and printed in 1925.
 
František Drtikol (1883–1961) was a pioneering Czech avant-garde photographer who reshaped the genre of classical nude photography between 1900 and 1935. In 1910, he opened a studio in Prague and supported his work through elegant and refined portraiture, but he made his name as an artist through daring and inventive nude studies. Drtikol’s work incorporated elements of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, as well as the geometric forms of Futurism, Cubism, and Bauhaus. He contrasted the soft flexibility of the female body against solid, unyielding geometric forms, and yet, despite the opposition, he conveyed that there is strength to be found in both.
 
Drtikol’s photographs can be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Chicago Art Institute, the Getty, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, and the Musée d’Orsay.
 
Stamped on back: WOMAN, Photogravure, Edited by Dr. Peter Land, Berlin, 1925, Plate #XLVII
Written on back: “Czech Woman” by F. Dritkol, Prague
 
Photographer: František Drtikol
Format: Photogravure
Size: 9.75 x 12.75 photo: 6.5 x 9
Condition: Excellent