nocturnal light. The lighting, which the portrait photo-
grapher selects, must underline all the characteristic face
particularities, which one can suppress neither as daily
nor as night lighting—they are not to be excluded from
the nature of his face.
His art was based not only on an extraordinary
sensibility for the light, but also on its tendency to
integrate the theosophical knowledge (which was
based on his study of eastern philosophy and book
translations) into his photographic work. Drtikol
wanted to ‘‘write’’ himself into the soul of human
beings with his work.
At the beginning of 1931 the Czechoslovakian
Republic fell into a deep economic depression. Drti-
kol had to give photography and painting lessons in
order to survive. Since he could not afford to have
models (or only rarely), he cut out—quite schemati-
cally—from paper or cardboard a silhouetted female
body, which however he idealized very strongly. The
dynamics, which had distinguished the second per-
iod, were lost. Drtikol needed the participation of
the living model. This dialogue between the photo-
grapher and the model was one of the sources of the
originality of his nude photography.
In 1935, he sold his studio, moved from the
center of Prague into a peripheral area, and gave
up photography; from then on painting and eastern
philosophy were his great interests.
Drtikol’s modernity consists of successful inte-
gration of elements of the Cubo-Futurism into his
work; particularly to integrate them into his nude
photography, without submitting himself to the pre-
vailing modes. The price for this persistence on his
own style, the origins of which were in the painting
of the symbolism of the nineteenth century, was
isolation and the decades-long forgetting of his
great photographic achievements. When he died
on 13 January 1961 in complete isolation, only a
few of his friends knew that one of the most impor-
tant photographers of the twentieth century had left
them. Not a single exhibition in Czechoslovakia of
Drtikol’s work occurred during his lifetime.
MilanChlumskyBiography
Born in Prˇı ́bram (Bohemia), on March 3, 1883. Appren-
ticeship with Antonı ́n Mattas on October 1, 1898. From
autumn 1901 at School of Apprentice and Laboratory
for Photography in Munich, graduating with honors
and a first prize during the exhibition in July 1903 in
the Munich Old City. 1904–1907 military service. 1908–
1909 own studio in Prˇı ́bram. After financial failure,
removal to Prague in February 1910. Publications
Doly prˇı ́bramske ́ (Coalpot in Prˇı ́bram, 1910) andZ
dvoru`a dvorˇecˇku ̊stare ́Prahy(From yards and back-
yards of the old Prague, 1911). Drtikol starts work in
1912 with nude photography. From 1913 he made por-
traits of important personalities of Czech and interna-
tional culture (Paul Vale ́ry, Nobel Price Winner R.
Tagore, etc.). 1914 Drtikol entered the Austrian-Hun-
garian army, is sent into war where he is blinded in one
eye. His studio in Prague continues to operate, led by
Jaroslav Roessler and by his partner, Augustin Sˇkarda.
1921 Drtikol separates from Sˇkarda because of finan-
cial discrepancies. 1922 patents procedure of photo
lithography, which shows also half-tones. 1925 his
nude photographs of the dynamic components—under
the influence of the expression-dance of E. Dalcroz—
were being extended by movement, cutout, and special
lighting effects (light modulation). 1929 appearLes nus
de Drtikol(Pre ́face Claude de Santuel) in Librairie des
Arts de ́coratifs in Paris. Because of the economic crisis
1929 Drtikol turned to teaching his craft. 1935 he sold
his studio, giving his photographs and all documents to
the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Prague. 1938 a last
publicationZˇena ve sveˇtle(Woman in the light). He
moves from the center to the periphery of Prague,
dedicates himself to painting and philosophy. Died on
13 January 1961 in Prague.Individual Exhibitions
1928 Cleveland Photographic Society; Cleveland, Ohio
1929 Towarzystwo Milownikow Fotografii; Warsaw, Poland
1930 Kodak Camera Club; Rochester, New York
The Royal Photographic Society; London, England
Cambridge University; Cambridge, England
The London Camera Club; London, England
Brooklyn Institute of Art; Brooklyn, New York
1932 Museum of Fine Arts of Houston; Houston, Texas
Club of the Photo Amateurs; (With Alois Zych), Olo-
mouc, Czech Republic
1936 City Art Galery; Durban, South Africa
Arts Hall; Port Elizabeth, South AfricaGroup Exhibitions
1903 International Exhibition for Photography and Gra-
phic Arts; Mainz, Germany
1911 Vy ́stava Cˇeske ́ho klubu fotografu ̊amate ́ru ̊v Praze(Exhi-
bition of the Czech Amateur Club of the Photographers);
Lucerna, Prague, Czech Republic
1913 International Exhibition of the London Salon of
Photography; London, England
1914–1915 Vy ́stava fotografiı ́; (Photography exhibition);
Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic
1922 Annual Exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society
of Great Britain; London, England
1923 I Exposizione Internationale di Fotografia; Ottica,
Torino, Italy
1924 Salon international de Photographie; Socie ́te ́Franc ̧ aise
de Photographie, Paris, France
International Salon of Photography; Camera Pictori-
alists of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
1925 International Exhibition of Professional Photography;
London, England
Exposition des Arts De ́coratifs; Paris, France
Mostra internazionale depression Arti Decorative;
Monza, ItalyDRTIKOL, FRANTISˇEK