The second posthumous edition of Sad Landscape (Northwest Bohemia) 1957-1962 by Josef Sudek (1896-1976) is of uncommon significance. It consists of reproductions of 89 panoramic photographs from the collec- tion of the Moravian Gallery in Brno. Its head curator, Antonín Dufek, in his epilogue to the edition (published also in English and German) interprets Sudek's Most region as an image of ”destruction, death“. This brings us to a matter sensitive beyond others - that of interpretation.
The fact that the original intention to title the book Severní krajina (Northern Landscape) has not been respected is justified here by Antonín Dufek by a quotation from the photographer regarding the melancholy of the landscape in the foothills of the Krušné hory region (the Erzgebirge), and in the images themselves he finds an equivalent in the depressing greyness of the sky. He then writes: "The Most region work also occupies a specific place within Sudek's art, in terms of ‘craft’, as if the artist were trying to challenge with his positives the vaunted precision of the platinum print. The fact that Sudek's photographs were difficult to reproduce, as well as their lack of immediate appeal, were certainly among the reasons that the book was not published.“(full article is available after purchasing a subscription - not available now)
The fact that the original intention to title the book Severní krajina (Northern Landscape) has not been respected is justified here by Antonín Dufek by a quotation from the photographer regarding the melancholy of the landscape in the foothills of the Krušné hory region (the Erzgebirge), and in the images themselves he finds an equivalent in the depressing greyness of the sky. He then writes: "The Most region work also occupies a specific place within Sudek's art, in terms of ‘craft’, as if the artist were trying to challenge with his positives the vaunted precision of the platinum print. The fact that Sudek's photographs were difficult to reproduce, as well as their lack of immediate appeal, were certainly among the reasons that the book was not published.“(full article is available after purchasing a subscription - not available now)