Josef Sudek and the Photographic Reproduction of Artworks: From Private Art Archive to Representation of Cultural Heritage

Provider and number: NAKI II, DG16P02M002

Duration: 2016–2020

Recitient: Institute of Art History, CAS

Principal investigator: Vojtěch Lahoda (2016–2019), Katarína Mašterová (2019–2020), Hana Buddeus (2020)

Research team: Vojtěch Lahoda, Katarína Mašterová, Hana Buddeus, Mariana Kubištová, Tereza Cíglerová (maternity leave), Kateřina Doležalová, Markéta Janotová, Martin Pavlis, Vlado Bohdan

Using the institute's collection of photographs of artworks by Josef Sudek (1896–1976), the project focuses on researching and presenting photographic documentation of artworks, a theme that has been largely overlooked in the Czech Republic. Photographic reproductions of art and architecture are generally the main tool for making this part of national cultural heritage accessible to both experts and the lay audience. In this part of his work, Sudek intentionally challenged the standards of the period, employing his unique authorial perspective even in common photographic documentation. The project's goal is to conserve, preserve in both physical and digital form, process, evaluate and exhibit the collection of ca 13,500 negatives and 6,000 positives by Sudek, dating largely to the second third of the 20th century. This part of Sudek's oeuvre is deposited in the photo library of the Institute of Art History, CAS and, except for a few special cases, it has been neither evaluated nor made accessible to the public.
Among the outcomes of the project are the books: Instant Presence: Representing Art in Photography (2017), Josef Sudek: Topografie sutin / The Topography of Ruins (2018) and Sudek a sochy / Sudek and Sculpture (2020). Digitalized collection of Josef Sudek's photograph is available on the web site of the project.

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