Examining František Drtikol: the Czech Master of the Female Nude

By: Gustė Matulionytė

František Drtikol (1883-1961) was arguably one of the most influential figures of early twentieth century Czech photography and a master of nude form. Although rejected by some modernists for what was perceived to be a dated approach to photography, Drtikol was recognised by contemporaries both on a national and an international level. Never belonging to one group or movement, he arose in the tumultuous art world of the interwar years while seamlessly drawing from multiple influences, from Cubism and Expressionism to Buddhism and East Asian philosophy. His photographs are imbued with heavy symbolic messages and narrative elements, marked by dramatic interplays of light and shadow and dynamic compositions, created over more than three decades using a variety of techniques. Nonetheless, they all have a certain quality, a distinctly Drtikol style, that both naturally fits into the photographic history of the twentieth century and stands out as unique.

František Drtikol, Vlna [Wave], 1926-27. Source: https://www.upm.cz

Drtikol studied photography at the prestigious Teaching and Research Institute for Photography in Munich, where he familiarised himself with both works of the old masters and contemporary art developments. Modern art movements were of great importance to Drtikol, and Art Deco and Symbolism were especially influential to the first stages of his career in the 1910s. During this time Drtikol discovered and honed his interest in the nude form, focusing on the female nude especially. His artistic photography from this time focused on dynamic, narrative-laden depictions of female characters. Two contrasting types emerged in his oeuvre. Drtikol produced numerous photographs of angelic, fragile nudes with long flowing tresses of hair, tenderly covered by heavy drapery and floral wreaths, set in decorative Art Nouveau backgrounds. These images offer an interplay of innocence and sensuality, otherworldliness and dreaminess contrasted with desire and a hint of melancholy.

František Drtikol, Salomé, 1923. Source: https://www.upm.cz

The other part of Drtikol’s oeuvre of the 1910s and early 1920s consisted of dramatic femme fatale characters, seductresses confident and comfortable in their nude form, promising a fatal fate to men who dare engage with them. In these photographs characters such as Judith, Cleopatra and Salome come to prominence. Salome was especially of interest to Drtikol as a dual symbol of both love and death – several surviving photographs depict her as an evil temptress savouring the death of John the Baptist. In contrast to the more decorative, elaborate sets of the lyrical nudes, these dramatic compositions are less concentrated on the props and more on the volumes of the human body, and the contrasts of shadowed backgrounds and illuminated planes of the body.

František Drtikol, Salomé, 1923. Source: https://www.upm.cz

The dramatic nudes of the 1910s prophesised the second phase of Drtikol’s photographic career. In 1920s, he gradually abandoned staged narrative photography in favour of geometric compositions. Although the interest in the female nude prevailed, the elaborate sets and props were replaced by pure geometric shapes. During this time, Drtikol explored the expressive power of the human body, usually using dancers as models and muses, capturing them in the middle of dramatic, exaggerated movements. The poses of the dancers in these photographs are sharp and angular, mimicking the dark shadows that the set elements cast on their bodies and the plain backgrounds. The geometry evidences a Cubist and Futurist influences, but the overblown poses recall Expressionist developments. It is clear that Drtikol was affected by European modern art and freely combined a variety of influences. During the 1920s, Drtikol also began experimenting with organic forms, complementing the ebbs and flows of a nude body with undulating cut outs, as in his famous photograph Wave (Vlna), 1926-27. The woman and the wave fuse into one as the body is metaphorically reabsorbed by nature. Narrative elements and lively characters are replaced by abstraction, minimalism, and a sense of tranquillity. Harmonious and serene, the photograph offers an escape from the tumult of interwar period reality.

František Drtikol, Untitled (cut-out nude with flowers), c. 1930-35. Source: https://kochgallery.com/artists/frantisek-drtikol/

By the 1930s, Drtikol’s interest in photography waned due to the commercial failure of his photographic studio in Prague and the artist’s growing interest in spiritual matters. Drtikol studied various oriental philosophies and religions, eventually turning to Buddhism and taking a great interest in kundalini yoga. He showcased interest in higher consciousness, supreme learning, and the spiritual world, which was reflected in the last distinct phase of his photographic oeuvre. Drtikol transposed the explorations of nude human form from living bodies to plywood and cardboard cut outs. The miniature figurines, crafted by Drtikol himself, are placed alongside elements of nature such as twigs and blossoms. The figures and the imaginary landscapes are backlit, creating shadowed, ephemeral scenes. The resulting images are dreamlike, imbued with transcendental evocations of souls ascending to a higher plane of consciousness.

An obsessive exploration of a single topic – the female nude – emerges in Drtikol’s photographic oeuvre. The mythical characters, the expressive silhouettes of dancers, the melding of human and nature form, and the transposition of bodies to miniatures are different variants of the same motif, demonstrating the photographer’s creativity and inventiveness in finding new means of expression. Throughout the years his photography evolved, reflecting Drtikol’s own aesthetic and philosophical concerns, as well as parallel artistic developments across Europe. Drtikol undoubtedly drew inspiration from other artists, photographers and painters alike, yet retained a distinct, ever-evolving style that garnered him praise and inspired avant-garde Czech photographers for years to come.

Notes

Birgus, Vladimir. ‘František Drtikol.’ History of Photography 19, no. 4 (1995): 343-348.

Drtikol, František, Annette Kicken, and Rudolf Kicken. Drtikol: Photographs=Photographie. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz, 2012.