Poslední Růže (Last Roses), from the series 'The Window of My Studio', 1956
Gelatin silver print
11 ⅛ × 9 ¼ in.
Titled in pencil and "PHOTO SUDEK" stamp, on verso
September 22, 2025
This softly toned print is rendered so lovingly that it's unmistakably a product of the same hand that placed these three roses in their glass, in front of the condensation-streaked window.
Czech photographer Josef Sudek's studio had been the heart of his commercial photography business in Prague, but when he was forced to discontinue this work during the German occupation of World War II, he increasingly looked to his studio itself for his subject and inspiration. This handsome print is a fine example of a body of work that he created over 14 years, centered on the view of the garden through his studio window.
This deeply contemplative series serves as a meditation on photography itself. The view of his garden through the fogged glass describes both the impulse to savor the view of the world around us, and how photography transforms the way we see those things. The late summer roses, tenderly placed in an impermanent-feeling arrangement in the glass of water, speak poetically to the intimate connection between a photograph and our desire to preserve moments of fleeting beauty.
