The legendary Josef Sudek (1896–1976) is now regarded as one of the great figures of world photography. After his death, a substantial part of his artistic estate was donated by his sister Božena to the collections of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. It comprises approximately 21,000 original prints and around 27,000 negatives.
The museum’s conservation department, led by Martina Chadimová, together with external scanning specialist Petr Šálek, has gradually digitised a selection of these negatives, from which the works in this exhibition have been chosen. These are not Sudek’s final photographs, as he continued to work very creatively on their ultimate form in the positive print. Presented here as digital prints, however, they offer an insight into the remarkable diversity of his more than sixty-year career.
Some of the works were never printed by Sudek himself and can now be seen by the public for the first time at Galerie Kinský.
Info
Artist | Josef Sudek
Exhibition dates | 22 May–1 November 2026
Opening hours | Information on their website
Venue | Galerie Kinský at the New Castle in Kostelec nad Orlicí
Address | Komenského 266, 517 41 Kostelec nad Orlicí
Guided tour of the Afterglow exhibition
Join us for a guided tour of Adam Holý: Afterglow and take a closer look at the work of one of the distinctive voices in Czech photography, whose practice moved freely between club culture, glamour, fashion, and landscape photography.
Adam Holý – Afterglow
We warmly invite you to the opening of Afterglow, an exhibition celebrating the extraordinary photographic legacy of Adam Holý, on 3 September at Fotograf Gallery.
Opening – 16th Fotograf Zone Festival
We warmly invite you to the 16th edition of the Fotograf Zone Festival, taking place across several venues in Prague from 1–11 October 2026.