Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, room 514a , Case R, Shelf 19, Box L

Untitled

Photograph
ca. 1960-1980 (made)
Artist/Maker
Tichý, Miroslav (artist)
Place of origin
Czech Republic (made)

His prints were kept to himself, and never intended to be exhibited. They are unique, made by him, sometimes drawn upon, making aesthetic use of damage and scratches and often surrounded with decorated borders of cut and coloured card and pen and ink patterns. His images show an enchantment with women : everyday muses - ordinary women shopping, sunbathing, sitting on benches or simply strolling around. The damage, rough hand-decorated borders and general patina of age of the prints adds to their allure. They make a wonderful example and contrast - of how it is not always the pristine, fine print by the acknowledged master that can hold a place on the gallery wall and in the Museum.


Object details

Category
Photographs
Object type
Photograph
Titles
  • Untitled (assigned by artist)
  • Woman carrying bag, walking (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Silver-gelatin print
Paper
Silver Gelatin Process
Brief description
Photograph, gelatin - silver print, woman carrying bag, walking , ca. 1960-80.
Physical description
Gelatin-silver print on green card with hand drawn pencil border, woman carrying bag, walking.
Dimensions
  • Paper size width: 205mm
  • Paper size height: 285mm
Production typeUnique
Copy number
unique
Gallery label
  • Tichý trained as a painter but spent many years as a psychiatric patient, living on the fringes of mainstream society. For over three decades he photographed people on the streets of Brno, Czech Republic, using homemade cameras. He was 79 when his first retrospective was held. His roughly made photographs stand in contrast to pristine, ‘museum-quality’ prints.(21/11/2012)
  • Gallery 100, ‘History of photography’, 2012-2013, label texts : Miroslav Tichý (1926 – 2011) Untitled About 1960–80 Tichý trained as a painter but spent many years as a psychiatric patient, living on the fringes of mainstream society. For over three decades he photographed people on the streets of Brno, Czech Republic, using homemade cameras. He was 79 when his first retrospective was held. His roughly made photographs stand in contrast to pristine, ‘museum-quality’ prints. Gelatin silver prints Purchased with the assistance of Pierre Brahm, Mark Hawtin, Michael Warshaw and Michael Hoppen Museum nos. E.289, 328-2006 (11 03 2014)
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of Pierre Brahm, Mark Hawtin and Michael Warshaw
Summary
His prints were kept to himself, and never intended to be exhibited. They are unique, made by him, sometimes drawn upon, making aesthetic use of damage and scratches and often surrounded with decorated borders of cut and coloured card and pen and ink patterns. His images show an enchantment with women : everyday muses - ordinary women shopping, sunbathing, sitting on benches or simply strolling around. The damage, rough hand-decorated borders and general patina of age of the prints adds to their allure. They make a wonderful example and contrast - of how it is not always the pristine, fine print by the acknowledged master that can hold a place on the gallery wall and in the Museum.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.289-2006

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJanuary 10, 2007
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O130777/untitled-photograph-tichý-miroslav/
Download as: JSON