Anna Fárová (1 June 1928 – 27 February 2010) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

who specialized and catalogued Czech and

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

photographers, including

František Drtikol František Drtikol (3 March 1883 – 13 January 1961) was a Czech photographer known for his nudes and portraits. Life and work Drtikol was born in Příbram into a merchant family, the younger of three children, brother of sisters, Ema and ...

and

Josef Sudek Josef Sudek (17 March 1896 – 15 September 1976) was a Czech photographer, best known for his photographs of Prague. Life Sudek was born in Kolín, Bohemia. He was originally a bookbinder. During the First World War he was drafted into the A ...

. She was one of the pioneers of writing on history of photography. Her publishing activities helped to establish photography as an art discipline within the country.

Biography

Fárová was born in 1928 in Paris, to a Czech diplomat, Miloš Šafránek, and a French teacher, Anne Moussu. She spent a part of her early childhood in Paris, the family moved to

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

only in the middle of the 1930s. Following her studies at the French gymnasium in Prague she continued studying art history and

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

at the Faculty of Arts of the

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

.Fárová began her studies at the Charles University in 1948. (Fárová (2010), p.40) In 1952, she married Czech artist

Libor Fára Libor Fára (12 September 1925 – 3 March 1988) was a Czech sculptor and painter. Biography Fára was born in Prague. The versatile Fára graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague in the studio of Emil Filla in the second half of t ...

. In 1956, her father arranged a meeting with photographer

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French artist and Humanist photography, humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 135 film, 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street ...

. The meeting heavily influenced her career. She began working with the

Magnum Photos Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices in Paris, New York City, London and Tokyo. It was founded in 1947 in Paris by photographers Robert Capa, David Seymour (photographer), Davi ...

agency, co-founded by Cartier-Bresson, and published a series of monographs in the Czech publishing house Odeon. She held a number of photo exhibitions across Prague. However, the Communist era Czechoslovak government banned Fárová from working in the country after she became a

signatory Signatory may refer to: * The writer of a signature ** Signatory state, a country that has signed a treaty * Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Company, owner of the Edradour distillery Edradour distillery (Scottish Gaelic: ''Eadar Dhà Dhobh ...

of the

Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...

manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

in the 1970s. Much of her work was published outside of Czechoslovakia during the 1980s, before the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

and fall of

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

. Fárová died of a "serious illness" on 27 February 2010, at the age of 81.

References

External links

Anna Fárová: a life in photography (Czech Radio)Anna Fárová (Gallery Langhans)Anna Fárová Multimedia IHNED.cz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farova, Anna 1928 births 2010 deaths Czech art historians Czech photographers Charter 77 signatories Czech people of French descent Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) Women art historians Historians of photography Czechoslovak expatriates in France Czech women photographers Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Charles University alumni

Biography

References

Further reading

External links