František Drtikol

František Drtikol (1883 – 1961) was a renowned member of the Czech fin-de-sièlce movement. Between 1907 until his death in 1961, he produced a monumental body of work consisting of photographs, paintings, and drawings, which largely took as a subject the nude figure. His photographs of the 1920s and 1930s, in particular, are indicative of the central European Art Deco movement, as well as drawing from Expressionist dance and German cabaret. 

Born in Príbram, Bohemia, Drtikol went on to study photography in Munich in 1901. Returning to Príbram in 1907, the photographer opened his own studio, which was soon moved to Prague. During his time in Czechoslovakia, Drtikol developed his style out of the Art Nouveau and Pictorialist movements, and cemented himself as one of the Central European leading artists of the period.