Prague Fashion Houses, 1900–1948 / Pražské módní salony 1900–1948)
In carefully researched articles and splendid photographs, this publication charts out the history of the most important Prague fashion houses, including those of Hanna Podolská, Oldřich Rosenbaum, Arnoštka Roubíčková, and František Bárta, to illustrate and explain the development of the Czech fashion industry from about 1900 to 1948. It traces the development of tailoring and dressmaking, their change from a craft to an applied art, the expansion of international fashion, and the transformation of tailors and dressmakers into artists and merchants. The publication also relates the extraordinary lives of the owners of these fashion houses against the background of historic events. Gabriel Urbánek / Glass in Photography)
It has been most fortunate that Czech glass has always been photographed by outstanding photographers; every one of them visually treated the material in their own distinctive way, whether these were Josef Sudek in the 1930s, Jindřich Brok, Jindřich Otto and others after 1945. From the late 1960s, Gabriel Urbánek, an in-house photographer at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, has held a prominent place among this photographic elite. His name appears along with authors of the finest books on historical Bohemian and contemporary Czech glass. What we admire in his work are his skilful treatment of light, a feeling for composition, photographic precision and sensitivity. Without his creative input, the general awareness of Czech glass production would have been greatly deprived and the appreciation of the superb quality of it would hardly be so profound. The catalogue offers 160 photographs made between 1990 and 2018, presenting contemporary art sculptures and design, as well as historical goblets, vases and other fragile artefacts created by masters in their field.
This catalogue has been published by the museum to accompany the exhibition held in the House at the Black Madonna from May 18 to October 21, 2018. Koudelka Returning)
The volume, published to accompany the exhibition at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague (March 22 - September 23, 2018) on the occasion of the photographer’s eightieth birthday, presents a cross-section his life’s work. The volume is based on 350 photographs that come from large sets of his works, which Koudelka has decided to donate to his native land. These include all his important photographic series: Beginnings, Experiments, Theatre, Gypsies, Invasion 68, Exiles, and Panoramas. Edited by Josef Koudelka and Irena Šorfová, the volume includes six essays, a chronology of his life, and bibliography of works by and about Koudelka. It provides a comprehensive overview of the photographer’s life and works. It is published in Czech and English editions.
concept: Josef Koudelka
editors: Josef Koudelka a Irena Šorfová
texts: Anna Fárová, Helena Koenigsmarková, Irena Šorfová, Stuart Alexander, Daniel Herman, Josef Chuchma, Jan Mlčoch, Josef Moucha, Tomáš Pospěch
publishers: UPM and Karel Kerlický - KANT
editions: English and Czech
translation to English: Derek and Marzia Paton
photographs: Josef Koudelka/Magnum Photos
graphic design: Aleš Najbrt, Studio Najbrt
format: 31 x 24 cm, hard cover
pages: 350
reproductions: 440
ISBN: 978-80-7101-173-6 (UPM)
price (at UPM): 1600 CZK (English), 1400 CZK (Czech) DESIGN – PROFILES – KEY FIGURES)
Edition series
of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague
and the Arbor Vitae publishing house
There has been a lack of scholarly and popularizing publications devoted to Czech design and decorative art that would discuss contemporary and historical events, and explore traditional and experimental endeavours in the field. Such books are badly needed both by the Czech public and foreign readers interested in Czech design and decorative art. This is perhaps why Czech design has been at the margin of world interest, rather than at its centre.
The Design – Profiles – Key Figures edition series responds to this need, examining key figures in various fields of design, applied photography and fashion of the 20th and 21st centuries. We are convinced that the edition will become a fundamental source for the deeper understanding of the developments and trends in Czech decorative art and design within an international context. The texts are published in Czech and English language editions.
