Jaromír Funke (1 August 1896 – 22 March 1945) was a leading

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' Places * Czech, ...

photographer during the 1920s and 1930s.

Early life

Funke was born to a wealthy family in house No. 238 in Skuteč on 1 August 1896, the son of Antonín Funke, Bohemian-German lawyer (son of Josef Funke, a

Kolín Kolín (; german: Kolin, Neu Kolin, Collin) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 32,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Administra ...

draper) and his wife Miloslava, the daughter of Professor František Potůček. He studied medicine, law, and philosophy at the

Charles University in Prague ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

and the University of Bratislava but did not graduate and instead turned to photography.

Style

Funke was recognized for his “photographic games” using mirrors, lights, and insignificant objects, such as plates, bottles, or glasses, to create unique works. In his still life imagery he created abstracts of forms and shadows reminiscent of photograms. His work was regarded as logical, original and expressive in nature. A typical feature of Funke's work would be the “dynamic diagonal."

Career

Later career

During his photography profession, Funke published editorials and critiques about photography. By 1922, Funke had become a skilled freelance photographer and two years later he,

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 ...

and

Adolf Schneeberger Adolf Schneeberger (born in Choceň Choceň (; german: Chotzen) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,500 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Březenice, Dvořisko, Hem ...

created the

Czech Photographic Society 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' Places * Czech, ...

. From 1931-1935, Funke headed the photography department at the School of Arts and Crafts in Bratislava. Soon after, Funke taught at the School of Graphic Art in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

until 1944. Alongside Ladislav Sutha, the director of the previous school, Funke published ''Fotografie vidí povrch'' in 1935. While travelling, Funke became interested in politically engaged photography and was a contributor to the illustrated weekly ''

Pestrý týden Pestrý týden was a Czech illustrated weekly magazine published from 2 November 1926 to 28 April 1945, during the First and Second Czechoslovak Republics and during the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. It helped establish top photo-reporters ...

''. ''Bad living,'' created during the Great Depression of 1930-1931, dealt with poverty. Funke later became an editor of the journal ''Fotografický obzor'' ("Photographic Horizons") for several years. He published a number of works including ''Od fotogramu k emoci'' which is understood to be his manifesto.

Death

As travelling was limited during World War II in 1939, Funke photographed close to home in

Louny Louny (; german: Laun) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Ohře. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrat ...

and sometimes

. On March 22, 1945 in Kolin, a few months before the end of the Second World War and its indirect victim as a result of the Allied airstrike, the electricity supply to the hospital in which he was under abdominal surgery was interrupted, and he died. He was buried at the Central Cemetery in Kolín.

References

Bibliography

*Dufek Antonín: ''Jaromír Funke. Průkopník fotografické avantgardy'', 1997, Brno, *Ludvík Souček: ''Jaromír Funke - Fotografie'', 1970, Odeon, Prague *Československý biografický slovník, Encyklopedický institut ČSAV, Academia, Praha, 1992 *Pastor Suzanne E., Dufek Antonín:'' Jaromír Funke - fotografie 1919-1943 - věci skleněné a obyčejné'', Pražský dům fotografie, Praha, 1995 *Birgus V. a kol.: ''Česká fotografická avantgarda 1918-1948'', Kant, Praha, 1999 *Philippe Grand: ''Vues d' architectures - photographies des XIXe et XXe siecles'', 2002, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Paris, France *Moucha Josef: ''A flash of avant-garde, or Jaromír Funke'', Imago, n. 18, Summer 2004 *Dufek Antonín: ''Jaromír Funke'', fotografická publikace, Torst, 2004 *Witkovsky, Matthew S.: ''Jaromír Funke's Abstract Photo series of 1927–1929: History in the making'', in: History of Photography 29 (2015) 3, S. 228-23

External links

Short biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funke, Jaromir 1896 births 1945 deaths Czech photographers Charles University alumni People from Skuteč