Size: 57 x 83 cm (in light passe-partout)
signed l.d.: 'JAN SAUDEK'
Biography
Since 1963, when he first exhibited his photographs in Prague, he has been continuously photographing. In 1972, the most characteristic motif of his work appears - a scratched basement wall. Against its background he composes his phantasmagorical nudes. He is usually posed by women who are far from contemporary canons of beauty - mature, often obese, sometimes even old or crippled - but the artist is able to extract some magical beauty even from ugliness (although he sometimes rubs against turpitude and sometimes even vulgarity). Often, like Helmut Newton, he portrays the same people with and without clothes. A characteristic example of his work is, for example, the diptych HouseWife (1984). Initially appreciated more in the West than in his own country. During the CSRS era, he was boycotted by the communist authorities. Today he enjoys great popularity (exhibitions, albums, interviews) both abroad and in the Czech Republic.
