White rose in a glass
A delicate white rose is captured in soft, luminous tones as it rests within a simple glass vessel, its petals glowing against a darkened background. Josef Sudek's masterful use of light transforms this quiet, intimate still life into a meditation on beauty and transience. The gelatin silver print reveals the Czech photographer's signature poetic sensibility, where the mundane becomes deeply contemplative.
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print.
- Location
- Phillips, Salt Lake City, UT
- Spotted At
- Auction House · PhillipsView on map
🔨 Auction Lot
Photographs
November 18, 2014
Artists in conversation
Edward Weston
American · b. 1886
Weston created luminous gelatin silver still life photographs of organic subjects including flowers and shells, using dramatic chiaroscuro lighting against dark backgrounds to achieve the same meditative and contemplative quality found in this rose study.
Karl Blossfeldt
German · b. 1865
Blossfeldt shared Sudek's devotion to botanical subjects rendered in fine detail through gelatin silver printing, transforming simple plant forms into quietly powerful, serene images that elevate natural transience into timeless visual poetry.
Imogen Cunningham
American · b. 1883
Cunningham produced intimate monochromatic floral photographs with soft tonal gradations and delicate petal detail, sharing Sudek's sensibility of finding deep contemplative beauty in single botanical specimens rendered in silvery luminous tones.
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