Current Affairs Prague through the eyes of Jiří Všetečka
The Old Royal Palace at Prague Castle is currently hosting an exhibition of photographs by Jiří Všetečka, a photographer who is best known for his pictures of the Czech capital. The exhibition entitled Pražský chodec or Prague Walker takes place on the occasion of the photographer’s 70th birthday. It looks back at his career, spanning more than 50 years.
Jiří Všetečka
The title Prague Walker refers to a book of photos by the same name that
was published in the late 1970s. The black and white pictures from the book
are on display outside the gallery in the Garden on the Ramparts. Most of
these documentary-style photos were taken between 1950 and 1970 and capture
places that have changed beyond recognition. Those on display in the
gallery of the Old Royal Palace are panoramic pictures of Prague, both in
black and white and in colour. Jiří Všetečka points out one of the
large format photos, depicting Prague towers veiled in clouds:
“What you see in the middle is the Old Town Hall. On the left is Saint
Nicholas church and at the top is the National Museum. These two towers are
part of St Ludmila’s church at Náměstí míru, but people often mistake
them for Vyšehrad. This photograph could only have been taken from Letná
plain. I used a long focus, so it creates the impression that you are
looking through a pair of binoculars. The photo was taken early in the
morning and the smoke that you can see is the vapour rising from gas
heaters, illuminated by the rising sun.”
Jiří Všetečka says that taking really good photographs of Prague
requires patience, discipline and most of all, a thorough knowledge of the
city. You have to know where to stand and what is the best time of day for
taking the picture. Only then can you succeed in capturing well-known
places, such as Charles Bridge, in a new and unexpected way:
“Charles Bridge is a beautiful place – it’s like a gallery of statues right in the centre of the town. Not many people realize that the bridge has a bend and it also goes slightly upward, so if you stand on one end you cannot see the other. When you come early in the morning and wait for the sunrise, you can see, for only about five minutes, the reflection of the sun on the wet cobblestones.”
Charles Bridge and other places in Prague through the lens of Jiří Všetečka are on display in the Old Royal Palace at Prague Castle until the end of August.
Photo: Barbora Kmentová
