František Drtikol
Dêlnìk

Dêlnìk
Dêlnìk
Dêlnìk
CultureCzech
Titles
  • Dêlnìk
  • Worker
Date1924
PlaceCzech Republic
MediumBromoil print
DimensionsImage: 11 7/16 × 9 3/16 in. (29.1 × 23.3 cm)
Sheet: 11 7/16 × 9 3/16 in. (29.1 × 23.3 cm)
Credit LineThe Sonia and Kaye Marvins Portrait Collection, museum purchase funded by Sonia and Kaye Marvins
Object number85.219
Non exposé

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Special Collections
Object Type
Description

A revered commercial portraitist in
the Pictorialist style, Frantisek Drtikol, like so many others at the close of
World War I decided to alter his photographic methods, both in front of the
camera and in the darkroom in place of soft-focus romanticism, dramatic
composition of light and shadow created by intense arc-lamp illumination
evolved. Abstracted geometric elements and harmonious configurations of line
and shape were introduced by a judicious placement of plywood studio props. These
accoutrements were not meant
to describe
or give contextual information about the sitter but rather constituted elements
of pure design. Drtikol also experimented with unusual vantage points,
depth-of-field manipulations, and high-contrast prints. Innovations such as
these generally have been regarded as the progenitors of the international
Bauhaus style. In addition, the bromoil technique allows for a certain amount
of artistic intervention (pigmented oil is brushed onto a gelatin substrate by
hand) which in its turn further abstracts the image.





The subject of the portrait,
Jaroslav Rossler, is another influential Czech avant-garde photographer who worked
in Drtikol's studio as a student-apprentice from just after World War I until
1925. The photograph was probably taken while Rossler was assisting Drtikol in
building one of his sets.




ProvenanceKicken Berlin; MFAH, 1985.
Exhibition HistoryExhibited "Evocative Presence: Twentieth Century photographs in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston February 27 - May 1, 1988

Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
bottom right below image on mount in pencil " 16v20[illegible] "

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Self portrait with Virginia Cigar / Self Portrait
František Drtikol
1912–1913
Gelatin silver print and bromoil print
2004.421.A,.B
[Nude]
František Drtikol
1919
Bromoil print
2002.908
Nude Composition
František Drtikol
1924
Bromoil print
2002.911
Nude with Disks
František Drtikol
1927
Bromoil print
2002.917
Vlna
František Drtikol
1925
Bromoil print
2002.918
Composition
František Drtikol
1928
Bromoil print
2002.907
The Worker
František Drtikol
1926
Bromoil print
2002.919
The Bow
František Drtikol
1929
Bromoil print
2002.910
Nude with Drapery
František Drtikol
1926
Bromoil print
2002.915
Untitled
František Drtikol
1911
Bromoil print
2004.422
Untitled
František Drtikol
1920s
Bromoil print
2002.912
L'Étude
František Drtikol
1925
Bromoil print
2002.913