Two Nudes c. 1929

František Drtikol created this photograph, Two Nudes, using gelatin silver print. This piece is full of geometric and minimalist forms, typical of the interwar period in Czechoslovakia. The photograph seems to explore themes of control and power, and the use of nude figures may allude to the freer social and artistic culture of the time, when there was experimentation with new artistic and social freedoms. Drtikol's approach can be understood against the backdrop of Czech modernism. In the newly formed Czechoslovak Republic, there was a turn towards more avant-garde artistic expression. There was also an institutional shift towards a focus on photography as an art form. This photograph can be studied more deeply by exploring Czech social history and the history of photography as a modern art. When we analyze art as a product of cultural and institutional forces, we can get a much better understanding of the art itself.