Lot 4368: Sudek, Josef: China designed by Ladislav Sutnar

China designed by Ladislav Sutnar (1897 - 1976). Circa 1925. Vintage warm-toned gelatin silver print. 23,3 x 16,8 cm. Czech credit/copyright stamp with Josef Sudek's name, as well as Sutnar's signature stamp and number stamp on the verso.
In the 1920s the Czech designer Ladislav Sutnar was among a group of European designers and architects who strove to improve the quality in everyday life for the wider public through industrial design. By creating brand identities for companies while applying principles of standardization, serial production and eye-catching clarity to advertising and domestic products, they sought a more functional yet aesthetic approach to articles of everyday life. Sutnar designed tableware, books and magazines, textiles and children's toys. Many of the advertising photographs Josef Sudek made for Ladislav Sutnar also bear Sutnar's signature stamp on the verso. The two artists worked together very successfully and these earlier images by Sudek are quite rare on the art market today. - A few minimal handling marks, minimal oxidation mirroring in edges, traces of previous mounting on the verso, otherwise a rich dark print in very good condition.
Lit.: Vladimir Birgus. Tschechische Avantgarde Fotografie 1918 - 1948. Stuttgart 1999, compare ill. p. 160.