Eugen Wiškovský: The Photographic Picture

The first comprehensive edition of Eugen Wiškovský's photographs together with his texts. Photographer, teacher, translator of Sigmund Freud,

and, last but not least, tennis player Eugen Wiškovský (1888–1964) is increasingly appreciated as a leading representative of the Czech avant-garde and ranked alongside authors such as František Drtikol, Jaromír Funke, and Jaroslav Rössler. The creator of a small body of photographic work was also the author of a few, but all the more inspiring, texts on photography, in which he summarized the principles of avant-garde photography, defended the uniqueness of photography among other art forms, and presented a specific concept of how to perceive black-and-white photography. In his introductory text, American art historian Matthew S. Witkovsky describes him as a photographer who responded to the new objectivity in his own unique way and combined his approach to photography with ideas from Gestalt psychology and psychoanalysis. This first comprehensive reissue of Witkovsky's texts is sure to inspire not only art theorists, but also those seeking new paths in their own photographic work.