Czechs seem to have a knack for photography. Rudolf Franz Lehnert and Jan Saudek have already been featured in Pigtails. Josef Větrovský may be the subject of a later article in Pigtails. These are not all of the famous Czech photographers, but they are some that included young girls in their work. For a country with a current population a little over 10 million, this is a remarkable concentration of photographic talent. This article is about some young girl photographs of the Czech photographer Františka Drtikol.
Františka Drtikol – Ervínka (no date)
Františka Drtikol was born in 1883. He studied photography in Munich as a teenager, and in 1901, at age 18, he opened his own studio in his native town of Pribram. In 1907 he moved to Prague. Drtikol began his career in the Art Nouveau style, and was an early advocate of Art Deco. Much of his work was of portraits and female nudes. Drtikol was an active photographer until 1935, when he abandoned photography for painting and study of Buddhist philosophy. Drtikol died in 1961.
Františka Drtikol – Ervínka Standing (1928)
Františka Drtikol’s daughter Ervínka was the model for some of his most expressive portraits. The first portrait of Ervínka is not dated, but was probably photographed about the same time as the next two, which are dated 1928. The fourth photo is titled Malá Ervínka (Little Ervínka), and appears to have been taken several years earlier. The fifth is a photo of Ervínka in an Art Nouveau style costume. It is titled Dcera Ervínka v Otcově Ateliéru (Daughter Ervínka in her Father’s Studio).
Františka Drtikol – Ervínka Sitting (1928)
Františka Drtikol – Malá Ervínka (no date)
The first nude of Ervínka Drtikol has a title that translates as Ervínka with Cubist Decorations. Františka Drtikol was into most of the avant-garde art movements, including cubism. The following photo is a New Year’s card and the title translates to Nude – Happy New Year.
Františka Drtikol – Dcera Ervínka v Otcově Ateliéru (no date)
Františka Drtikol – Ervínka s Kubistickými Dekoracemi (no date)
The last two photos in this article are an untitled nude, and one simply titled Nude Girl.
Františka Drtikol – Akt – Šťastný Nový rok (no date)
Františka Drtikol – Untitled (no date)
Františka Drtikol – Nude Girl (1928)
Très belles photos.
Ces petites déesses chéries sont magnifiques. Je les aimes tendrement. Mes chéries je vous aimes de tout ❤️.
We might as well have the translation here:
These darling little goddesses are gorgeous. I love them dearly. My darlings I love you with everything.
Thanks to Sesshomaru for the comments and to Jerrold for the translation.
Do these lovely photos appear in any of the available books of this photographer’s work? Thanks 🙂
Thanks for the comment. These photos may be in available books, but unfortunately I do not know of any. The book Himno al Silencio by Manuel Susarte Rogel contains many similar photos by Drtikol, but of adult models.
This post refers to other very talented Czech photographers whose work has appeared here in the past. A post that should be mentioned is the one about Eva Zahorova. Note that in the end that name turned out to be the name of the model rather than the photographer.
https://pigtailsinpaint.org/2012/04/eva-zahorova/
Thanks for the comment. Czechs certainly have many photographers.
Another very talented Czech-American photographer was Suzanne Szasz, who wrote books about the techniques of child photography. I hope that sooner or later there will be a post here on her work.
Thanks for the comment. As far as I know, nobody is currently planning a post on Suzanne Szasz. If you or anybody else would like to submit a post, please don’t hesitate to do it. According to Wikipedia, Suzanne Szasz was born in Hungary, but she began her career as a photographer in New York.
CORRECTION:
She was Hungarian, not Czech.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanne_Szasz