Anton Josef Trčka (7 September 1893 – 16 March 1940) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

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 ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

, painter and poet. He was mostly known for his

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better re ...

, which he signed with the name "Antios," a combination of his first and middle names. His studio was destroyed by a bomb in 1944, and photographs of artists

Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (14 July 1862 – 6 February 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and a founding member of the Vienna Secession movement. His work helped define the Art Nouveau style in Europe. Klimt is known for his paintings, murals, sket ...

and

Egon Schiele Egon Leo Adolf Ludwig Schiele (; 12 June 1890 – 31 October 1918) was an Austrian Expressionist painters, painter. His work is noted for its intensity and its raw sexuality, and for the many self-portraits the artist produced, including nude sel ...

are some of the few surviving examples of his work.T. Starl (2012) "Trčka, Anton Josef; Ps. Antios (1893–1940), Photograph, Maler und Schriftsteller" in ''Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 (ÖBL)''. Vol. 14.

Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...

, Vienna. , pp
439
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440

Biography

Trčka was born on 7 September 1893 in Vienna to Czech parents who came from

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

hence throughout his life he was connected with both Germanic and Czech cultures. He lived and worked in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

and Vienna. In 1911 he entered the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

. During that time he experimented with new photographic techniques, and some of his pictures were produced both in

silver bromide Silver bromide (AgBr), a soft, pale-yellow, water-insoluble salt well known (along with other silver halides) for its unusual sensitivity to light. This property has allowed silver halides to become the basis of modern photographic materials. AgB ...

and bromoil prints, as mirror images. He also often modified the background of a negative with a brush to create a more artistic expression. In the early 1910s Trčka reproduced some paintings of

. Trčka photographed Schiele in early 1914. Between 1916 and 1918, he served with the Austrian Army, and then worked as a military photographer. He resumed his studio work in 1924. Continuing to study his craft, Trčka was one of the students of

Hella Katz Hella Katz (20 September 1899 – 20 January 1981) was the professional name of the Jewish photographer Helene Katz. Arriving in Vienna at the beginning of World War I, Katz became an influential photographer in the city in the interwar period. ...

. Trčka was married to Clara Schlesinger. He died in Vienna on 7 September 1893 aged 46, from

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trcka, Anton Josef 1893 births 1940 deaths Austrian people of Czech descent People from Austria-Hungary Photographers from Vienna