Marble
University of Notre Dame
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The Veterans Home at Invalidovna, Prague

Date

ca. 1924

Creator

Josef Sudek

Location

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

In the mid-1920s Sudek often photographed his fellow war veterans at Invalidovna. This is one of those images. The small contact print captures a ghostly silhouette shrouded in clouds of light--a lost soul suspended in Limbo. Sudek used many of the light and shadow effects he had learned from [Jaromír] Funke, often illuminating his subjects with reflected light, shifting the perception from form to light. But where Funke created dramatic images of obscure space, Sudek's work expressed melancholy. His images often seem insubstantial and create a tranquility tinged with loneliness. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)

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In the mid-1920s Sudek often photographed his fellow war veterans at Invalidovna. This is one of those images. The small contact print captures a ghostly silhouette shrouded in clouds of light--a lost soul suspended in Limbo. Sudek used many of the light and shadow effects he had learned from [Jaromír] Funke, often illuminating his subjects with reflected light, shifting the perception from form to light. But where Funke created dramatic images of obscure space, Sudek's work expressed melancholy. His images often seem insubstantial and create a tranquility tinged with loneliness. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
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  • In the mid-1920s Sudek often photographed his fellow war veterans at Invalidovna. This is one of those images. The small contact print captures a ghostly silhouette shrouded in clouds of light--a lost soul suspended in Limbo. Sudek used many of the light and shadow effects he had learned from [Jaromír] Funke, often illuminating his subjects with reflected light, shifting the perception from form to light. But where Funke created dramatic images of obscure space, Sudek's work expressed melancholy. His images often seem insubstantial and create a tranquility tinged with loneliness. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
  • In the mid-1920s Sudek often photographed his fellow war veterans at Invalidovna. This is one of those images. The small contact print captures a ghostly silhouette shrouded in clouds of light--a lost soul suspended in Limbo. Sudek used many of the light and shadow effects he had learned from [Jaromír] Funke, often illuminating his subjects with reflected light, shifting the perception from form to light. But where Funke created dramatic images of obscure space, Sudek's work expressed melancholy. His images often seem insubstantial and create a tranquility tinged with loneliness. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
Josef Sudek (Czech, 1896 - 1976)
ca. 1924
Photographs
Gelatin silver print
1998.045
melancholy
pipes
veterans
veterans hospitals
© Ateliér Josefa Sudka
Not on view, please request access
5 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (14 x 9 cm)
Walter R. Beardsley Endowment for Contemporary Art

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.