Jaromír Funke (1896-1945)

STYX COTY

Ca 1923
Vintage gelatin silver print on matte paper. 233 x 293 mm. From expert opinion by PhDr. Antonín Dufek Ph.D.: “Presented photograph was made from the same negative as the positive print in the collections of the Moravian Gallery in Brno, both are most probably vintage prints. […] In 1923-24, Funke photographed several still lifes with perfume bottles. One of them was published in the then well-known Swiss magazine Camera (Camera III, 1924-1925, Heft 4, unpaged attachment, as: Vera Violetta (Bromsilber) Jsn Funke, Köln a. Elbe, p. 95). Perhaps it was created together with other similar works as a preparation for a career of an advertising photographer, or maybe because of Teige’s admiration for advertising design or also under the influence of a friend from Köln, painter Zdenek Rykr, whose advertising design has survived until today. This is one of the first artist’s photographs with cast shadow. During the 1920’s, Funke concentrated himself on shadow play. It resulted in 1927-29 into the cycle Abstract Photo, one of the most significant European realizations of 1920’s." Condition A. Second copy is in the collections of Moravian Gallery in Brno, inv. No.: MG 9343. Literature: A. Dufek (ed.), Jaromír Funke. Mezi konstrukcí a emocí (exhibition catalogue), MG Brno and publishing house Kant, 2013, cat. No. 52. Provenance: Joel Soroka Gallery, Aspen, Colorado. Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York. Christie`s auction: Modern visions: Exceptional Photographs 18. 2. 2016, lot No. 141. Private collection.