Saudek’s Mirrors

Abstract Jan Saudek’s photographic work is crossed by a series of leitmotifs identified and dissected by the scalpel of the critics, although the most recurring of them seems to have been neglected: mirroring, in the form of reflection and juxtaposition. This stylistic effect has consequences which often exceed his creation, being visible even in the photographs of his disciple Sára Saudková. Affected by the atrocities of the war, unrecognized as an artist by the Czechoslovak communist regime and deprived of the understanding of his ex-wives and children, he remains true to his visions, fighting the kitsch that always haunted him. Paradoxically, in the self-critical sincerity of the octogenarian Jan Saudek, the recognition of his artistic value is obviously mirrored.