Bio of Frantisek DRTIKOL
(1883-1961)
Born in 1883 in Pribram, Czechoslovakia, Drtikol died in Prague in 1961. He served as an apprentice at a portrait studio in Pribram before attending (1901-1903) the Munich Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt fur Photographie, a teaching and research institute for photography in Munich. Here he worked under the tutelage of G. H. Emmerich and Hans Spurl. He was strongly influenced by Jugendstil, or Art Nouveau.
After his schooling, Drtikol returned to Czechoslovakia and earned his living as a photographer, working for various studios, then opened his own studio in Prague, where he specialized in portraits of writers and artists. He joined the Prague Cooperative Artel, lectured and continued to paint, making backdrops fro his photographs. Eventually he devoted himself completely to his painting. He was an influential figure in the European Bauhaus movement.
Drtikol is most noted for his "uniquely modernistic imagery through the use of harsh lighting and strangely contorted forms and backdrops. His primary subject was the female nude" (Light Impressions). Most of these images were made between 1900 and 1935.
Born in 1883 in Pribram, Czechoslovakia, Drtikol died in Prague in 1961. He served as an apprentice at a portrait studio in Pribram before attending (1901-1903) the Munich Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt fur Photographie, a teaching and research institute for photography in Munich. Here he worked under the tutelage of G. H. Emmerich and Hans Spurl. He was strongly influenced by Jugendstil, or Art Nouveau.
After his schooling, Drtikol returned to Czechoslovakia and earned his living as a photographer, working for various studios, then opened his own studio in Prague, where he specialized in portraits of writers and artists. He joined the Prague Cooperative Artel, lectured and continued to paint, making backdrops fro his photographs. Eventually he devoted himself completely to his painting. He was an influential figure in the European Bauhaus movement.
Drtikol is most noted for his "uniquely modernistic imagery through the use of harsh lighting and strangely contorted forms and backdrops. His primary subject was the female nude" (Light Impressions). Most of these images were made between 1900 and 1935.