PHOTOGRAPHERS from Czechia

Top 4

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Czech Photographers of all time. This list of famous Czech Photographers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Josef Koudelka (b. 1938)

With an HPI of 58.99, Josef Koudelka is the most famous Czech Photographer.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages on wikipedia.

Josef Koudelka (born 10 January 1938) is a Czech-French photographer. He is a member of Magnum Photos and has won awards such as the Prix Nadar (1978), a Grand Prix National de la Photographie (1989), a Grand Prix Henri Cartier-Bresson (1991), and the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography (1992). Exhibitions of his work have been held at the Museum of Modern Art and the International Center of Photography, New York; the Hayward Gallery, London; the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; and the Palais de Tokyo, Paris.

2. Jan Saudek (b. 1935)

With an HPI of 56.43, Jan Saudek is the 2nd most famous Czech Photographer.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Jan Saudek (born 13 May 1935) is an art photographer and painter. Saudek's art work represents a unique technique combining photography and painting. In his country of origin, Czechoslovakia, Saudek was considered a disturbed artist and oppressed by authorities. His art gained more prominence during the 1990s, thanks to his collaboration with the luxury art book publisher Taschen. During the 2000s Saudek lost all his photo negatives in a dispute with a former partner. The pictures were managed and displayed by Saudek.com, his son’s company, against Jan’s will. In 2012 High Court in Prague invalidated contracts between Jan and Saudek.com, effectively returning control over the works to the artist. Saudek is the author of many “mise en scene” that were re-taken and copied by other artists. The cliché of a naked man holding a naked new born baby with tenderness became a picture that was reproduced so many times that the composition became as commonplace as posing for a graduation picture. During his life in communist Czechoslovakia, Saudek was labeled by the totalitarian regime as a pornographer. He lived in poverty using the only room in his basement as his studio. A disintegrating wall and a window giving a glimpse into the backyard became the witnesses of his fantasies and collaborations with models of all different sizes and origins.

3. Josef Sudek (1896 - 1976)

With an HPI of 54.96, Josef Sudek is the 3rd most famous Czech Photographer.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Josef Sudek (17 March 1896 – 15 September 1976) was a Czech photographer, best known for his photographs of Prague.

4. František Drtikol (1883 - 1961)

With an HPI of 47.75, František Drtikol is the 4th most famous Czech Photographer.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

František Drtikol (3 March 1883 – 13 January 1961) was a Czech photographer known for his nudes and portraits.