Žena ve Světle: Výběr 46 Aktů (Women in Light. 46 Selected Nudes)
Prague: Nakladatelstvi E. Beaufort A. S., 1930. First edition. Hardcover. Quarto. (14)pp., (1) 46 (1) plates. Original orange cloth with printed paper label affixed to cover, protected by modern mylar. Textured endpapers. Title page printed in brown. Book block pages light yellow. Rights reserved and printed by E. Beaufort A. S. in Prague.
This work is Drtikol's seminal collection of nude studies. "Although influenced early in his career (while studying photography in Munich) by the decorative trend of Jugendstil or Art Nouveau, Drtikol moved, with Žena ve Světle, into his own modernist style of photography that prefigured and influenced the emerging Bauhaus aesthetic. He built sets and props out of plywood and used an arc lamp to cast strong shadows. The graphic presentation of the book is striking with the gum prints on thin paper, one to a page, set off by large page numbers. By 1935 Drtikol was creating wholly abstract works, in which the nudes were replaced by figurines or geometric shapes made from painted plywood. At age 52, at the peak of his international fame, Drtikol abandoned photography altogether to concentrate on painting, meditation, and oriental philosophy until his death in 1961." (Andrew Roth, The Book of 101 Books, page 64ff.) (Parr/Badger, Vol. 1, page 79)
Text in Czech. Dustjacket with minor wear and rubbing. Binding with very light wear along edges and rubbed, with some light smudging. Leaf with plates one and two with half and inch closed tear at bottom edge. Dustjacket and interior in very good, binding in good condition. Goo to very good condition. Item #50541
Price: $2,250.00