Frantisek Drtikol
1883-1961Mother Earth, c. 1930
Photographer's blindstamp on the image
Vintage Pigment Print
28,6 x 22,2 cm
Like most typical Drtikol photographs, 'Mother Earth' offers itself straightforwardly to the mind and the eye: limber woman, entrancingly simple setting, erotic languor and melodramatic emotion, nude form complemented and...
Like most typical Drtikol photographs, "Mother Earth" offers itself straightforwardly to the mind and the eye: limber woman, entrancingly simple setting, erotic languor and melodramatic emotion, nude form complemented and contrasted with geometrically shaped props and the shadows they cast.
"Mother Earth" strikes the viewer not only with the archetypical resonance of what we as human beings all need, but also with the powerful desire to walk back into where we came from. It depicts two paper-cut nudes sheltering into each other, with their shadows melting into one and standing in front of a woman's genitals, the doorway to the Earth for human beings. Thus "Mother Earth" signifies the safety of the Earth as well as that of the female body.
As a man, philosopher and artist, Drtikol centered his artwork on his passion for the female. A passion that led him to create the image of a "new woman" with short hair visible on her head and between her legs. The interplay between this new woman and the paper-cut nude figures balances the sexual tension in the image. A libidinous mystical sense, which is always present in his work, is created by the woman's naked body and passionate expressive gestures. This sense redefines the woman's place in society and associates her with the Earth.
© Cigdem Mirol
"Mother Earth" strikes the viewer not only with the archetypical resonance of what we as human beings all need, but also with the powerful desire to walk back into where we came from. It depicts two paper-cut nudes sheltering into each other, with their shadows melting into one and standing in front of a woman's genitals, the doorway to the Earth for human beings. Thus "Mother Earth" signifies the safety of the Earth as well as that of the female body.
As a man, philosopher and artist, Drtikol centered his artwork on his passion for the female. A passion that led him to create the image of a "new woman" with short hair visible on her head and between her legs. The interplay between this new woman and the paper-cut nude figures balances the sexual tension in the image. A libidinous mystical sense, which is always present in his work, is created by the woman's naked body and passionate expressive gestures. This sense redefines the woman's place in society and associates her with the Earth.
© Cigdem Mirol