id: 153326
accession number: 1986.38
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1986.38
updated: 2025-05-05 22:02:26.581000
Composition, 1927–1929. Jaromír Funke (Czech, 1896–1945). Gelatin silver print, silver bromide, photogram; image: 38.2 x 27.7 cm (15 1/16 x 10 7/8 in.); matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1986.38
title: Composition
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: 1927–1929
creation date earliest: 1927
creation date latest: 1929
current location:
creditline: John L. Severance Fund
copyright:
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culture: Czechoslovakia, 20th century
technique: gelatin silver print, silver bromide, photogram
department: Photography
collection: PH - Czech
type: Photograph
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
* Jaromír Funke (Czech, 1896–1945) - artist
Jaromír Funke Czechoslovakian, b. Austria-Hungary, 1896-1945
Jaromír Funke, one of Czechoslovakia's most important modernist photographers during the 1920s-40s, was born in Skute . Although many of his early images were influenced by the soft-focus pictorial style, from 1918-21 he produced a group of documentary views of the suburbs of Kolín. Following studies in medicine and law, in 1922 Funke decided to become a freelance photographer. Two years later he joined Josef Sudek and Adolf Schneeberger to found the Czech Photographic Society ( fs).
By the early 1920s Funke's work reflected a growing interest in modernist ideas, and he began to make clearly focused studies of simple objects. As the decade progressed, he turned to the production of carefully arranged still lifes emphasizing abstract form and the play of light and shadow. During this time he also produced several important series of photographs, including two inspired by the images of Eugène Atget: Reflexy (Reflections, 1929) and as trvá (Time Persists, 1930-34).
Funke was also influential as a teacher, first at the School of Arts and Crafts, Bratislava (1931-34/35), which followed a Bauhaus-inspired curriculum, and then at the State School of Graphic Arts, Prague (1935-44). While in Bratislava, he became interested in social documentary photography and joined the leftist group Sociofoto, which was concerned with recording the living conditions of the poor. Throughout his career Funke published articles and critical reviews dealing with photography. From 1939-41 he worked with Josef Ehm to edit the magazine Fotografický obzor (Photographic Horizon). M.M.
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measurements: Image: 38.2 x 27.7 cm (15 1/16 x 10 7/8 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)
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inscriptions:
inscription: Written in pencil on verso: "oben [up arrow]"
translation:
remark:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Year in Review for 1986
opening date: 1987-02-04T05:00:00
Year in Review for 1986. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-March 15, 1987).
title: Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art
opening date: 1996-11-24T05:00:00
Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 24, 1996-February 2, 1997).
title: The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art
opening date: 2006-06-09T00:00:00
The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), Cleveland, OH (June 9-August 20, 2006).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* {'description': 'CMA, February 4 - March 15, 1987: "Year in Review 1986," CMA Bulletin, 74 (February 1987), p. 65, no. 76.', 'opening_date': '1987-02-04T00:00:00'}
* {'description': 'CMA, September 22 - December 1, 1987: "Illuminations: The Art of Light," no exhibition catalogue.', 'opening_date': '1987-09-22T00:00:00'}
* {'description': 'CMA, November 20,1996 - February 2, 1997: "Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art," see Catalogue of Photography, pp. 36-37.', 'opening_date': '1997-02-02T00:00:00'}
* {'description': 'MOCA Cleveland (6/9/2006 - 8/20/2006): "The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art", no. 69, p. 119.', 'opening_date': '2006-06-09T00:00:00'}
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PROVENANCE
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996.
page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 36-37; Reproduced: P. 179
url:
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1986.38/1986.38_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1986.38/1986.38_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1986.38/1986.38_full.tif