Jaromír Funke 1896-1945

Rudolf Kicken Gallery, Cologne

Acquired by Margaret W. Weston from the above, mid-1980s

This print:

Jaromír Funke (Rudolf Kicken Galerie, Cologne, 1984, in conjunction with the exhibition), pl. 8

Other prints of this image:

Jaroslav Andel, Czech Modernism, 1900-1945 (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1989, in conjunction with the exhibition), p. 98

Manfred Heiting, Still Life & Portraits (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, 2001, in conjunction with the exhibition), p. 93

Manfred Heiting, At the Still Point: Photographs from the Manfred Heiting Collection, Vol. II, Part I, 1915-1968 (Los Angeles/Amsterdam, 2000), p. 203

Jill Quasha, The Quillan Collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Photographs (New York, 1991), pl. 46

The print offered here is an early example of Funke's exploration of abstract compositional arrangements using commonplace objects. It exemplifies Funke's affinity for diagonal compositions, tight cropping, and abstraction through the use of framing and lighting.  Jaromír Funke had met Josef Sudek as early as 1920, and Sudek's influence can be seen in this composition, which shows a distinct awareness of light and shadow within a carefully-structured still-life study.  In 1924, both Sudek and Funke were founding members of the Czech Photographic Society, a year after this photograph was made.

In his 1940 essay, From the Photogram to Emotion, Funke writes that 'with structural layering of different constructions, spirals, shapes and simple realities, one can conjure up startling configurations which, illuminated and evoked by a rich play of shadows, bring about a real photographic magic to the commonplace.'  These observations are embodied in the early, highly modernist composition offered here.

The annotation on the reverse of this print, 'Pitsburg' (sic), may indicate that it was exhibited at one of the annual Pittsburgh photographic salons.  As of this writing, only three other prints of this image have been located: in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in the Quillan Collection, and in the Manfred Heiting Collection, Los Angeles and Amsterdam.