Written by Pavel Podborsky Thursday, 31 March 2011 23:29

Stolen Print of Frantisek Drtikol's Famous 'Wave' Back Home in Prague

Prague.- The Czech police returned the "Wave", a precious print of a picture of a nude woman, by photographer Frantisek Drtikol, to Prague´s Museum of Decorative Arts, from where the print was stolen earlier this month by a thief whose identity remains unknown. The police said somebody tried to sell the photograph in California. An owner of a California gallery noticed that the photo was on the international list of stolen art. The head of the stolen art database reported this to the Czech police. There are several versions of Drtikol´s 'Wave' and it is rather difficult to verify their origin. Auction experts say the thief could not have sold The Wave on the open auction market. They said it was possible to try to sell it via private art traders and galleries, which posed risks, however. The print that was stolen on March 11, 2011 is not signed and it was insured for 1,250,000 crowns. The museum´s director Helena Koenigsmarkova said the most famous and most exhibited variant of The Wave was safely stored in a depository. Koenigsmarkova said earlier she believes the thief was a professional who probably stole the picture on an order. The photograph was very skilfully cut out from the frame, she noted. According to the auction website ART plus, Berlin's Gallery Kicken offered one of the variants of Frantisek's "Wave" to collectors for 400,000 euros at an art fair in Maastricht in March 2010.

František Drtikol (1883 - 1961) was a Czech photographer of international renown. He is especially known for his characteristically epic photographs, often nudes and portraits. Owning his own studio from 1907 until 1935 he operated from the fourth floor of one of Prague's remarkable buildings, a Baroque corner house at 9 Vodickova (now demolished). Drtikol took portrait photographs of both celebrities and nudes, which show a development from pictorialism and symbolism to modern composite pictures of the nude body with geometric decorations and thrown shadows, where it is possible to find a number of parallels with the avant-garde works of the period. These are reminiscent of Cubism, and at the same time his nudes suggest the kind of movement that was characteristic of the futurism aesthetic. He began using paper cut-outs in a period he called "photopurism". These photographs resembled silhouettes of the human form. After the studio was sold Drtikol focused mainly on painting, Buddhist religious and philosophical systems. In the final stage of his photographic work Drtikol created compositions of little carved figures, with elongated shapes, symbolically expressing various themes from Buddhism. In the 1920s and 1930s, he received significant awards at international photo salons. Drtikol published two books during his lifetime, "Le nus de Drtikol" and "Woman in the Light". His photographic work has made him the most valued Czech photographer at international auctions.




The foundation of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague in 1885 reflected the dramatic development of Czech society at the time. Following the establishment of a similar institution in Brno in 1873, the Prague museum soon became an important cultural and educational centre in the Crown Lands of Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The unfavourable impact of the Industrial Revolution on the aesthetic appearance and, consequently, the quality of products had for a long time been the subject of justified criticisms from artists, theorists and the public. The idea of establishing a permanent exhibition of decorative and applied arts in Prague was realised through an exhibition arranged by the Arkadia Association in 1861 at the Old Town Hall in Prague. Another source of inspiration had been the founding of a similar institution in London, the South Kensington Museum (now Victoria and Albert Museum), which opened in 1852, originally containing a collection of objects of applied and decorative arts. More important for the Czech public, however, was the Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie, which opened in Vienna in 1864. In 1868, in cooperation with the Vienna Museum, the Prague Chamber of Trade and Commerce held an exhibition on Žofín Island of objects obtained from the World Exhibition in Paris in 1867, supplemented by historical arts and crafts mostly from the collection of Vojtech Lanna (who became the Museum’s most important donor and sponsor). In a period when funds and suitable buildings were hard to find, the collection was initially displayed in the Rudolfinum (the House of the Artists). In 1897 a dedicated new building, designed by Josef Schulz in the renaissance style, was built and opened to the public in 1900. After being closed for a major refurbishment, the museum reopened in 1985. The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague collects and preserves for future generations (in both national and international contexts) examples of historical and contemporary crafts, as well as applied arts and design. We believe in harmony between function, quality and beauty; our ambition is to inspire, educate and entertain in a unique way. The Museum’s rich collections include decorative and applied arts and design work ranging from Late Antiquity to the present day, with focus on European objects, particularly arts and crafts created in the Bohemian Lands. The impressive interior of the permanent exhibition “Stories of Materials” offers visitors an excursion into the history and development of decorative arts: glass and ceramics, graphic art and design, objects made in metal, wood and other materials, jewellery, clocks and watches, textiles, fashion, toys and furniture. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.upm.cz

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