Josef Sudek ~ Poet of Prague

Josef Sudek (March 17, 1896 -- September 15, 1976) was a renowned Czech photographer, dubbed the “Poet of Prague.“ Born when Bohemia was a kingdom in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he learned bookbinding, but after his 1916 World War I injury, which led to the amputation of his right arm, he took up photography. His inability to accept the norm and prescribed limits of an artistic style and form accompanied him throughout his life. The amputation of his arm was a traumatic experience for him, and it seemed that photography was a form of redemption, as it allowed him to peek beyond the life of loneliness into the lives of fellow humans and their environment. Few people appear in his photographs, and melancholy is the signature on all. He worked hard to make up for his physical limitations and was very patient, driven by his pursuit of perfection. His style exhibits traits of Impressionism, Surrealism, Magic Realism, Neo-Romanticism, Avant-Garde, and Czech Poetism Movement, but c