Franz Fiedler
Encyclopedia
Franz Fiedler was a photographer.
Fiedler was born in Prostějov, near Olomouc
in Moravia
. Fiedler was a pupil of Hugo Erfurth
. He was regarded as an eccentric during his apprenticeship in Pilsen, and worked in 1905 and again in 1912 with Rudof Dührkoop in Hamburg
, and from 1908 to 1911 with Hugo Erfurth
in Dresden
. At the 1911 world exhibition in Turin
he won first prize and had another exhibition in Prague
in 1913. He belonged to the circle of Jaroslav Hašek
and Egon Erwin Kisch
and in 1916 married Erna Hauswald in Dresden where he occupied a studio at Sedanstraße 7.
From 1919, and coincidental with his friendship with Madame d'Ora (Dora Kallmus
, of Vienna
who was later to move to Paris
) he began to work with a 9×12 folding camera
and in 1924 became one of the first professional photographers to use a Leica. After expanding his studio in 1925, he took part in the exhibition "Film und Foto" in Stuttgart.
The outstanding publication on the city of Dresden
, conceived in the spirit of Die Neue Sachlichkeit, is one of the first illustrated works created according to the new principles of photography. It marks a turning point in his work. To the same series of publications, published by Adolf Behne
, belongs 'Berlin in Bildern' by Sasha Stone. That work was the subject of a show at the turn of the year (2006/7) in the Berlinischen Galerie.
Fiedler's studio was destroyed on 13 February 1945. All that was left was a box with photographs for exhibition which was deposited with his family in Moravia
. After 1945 he did not have his own studio and earned a living in the GDR
as author of books on photography. Anneliese Kretschmer, Dortmund, is one of his pupils.
Fiedler was born in Prostějov, near Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
in Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
. Fiedler was a pupil of Hugo Erfurth
Hugo Erfurth
Hugo Erfurth was a German photographer known for his portraits of celebrities and cultural figures of the early twentieth century.- External links:...
. He was regarded as an eccentric during his apprenticeship in Pilsen, and worked in 1905 and again in 1912 with Rudof Dührkoop in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, and from 1908 to 1911 with Hugo Erfurth
Hugo Erfurth
Hugo Erfurth was a German photographer known for his portraits of celebrities and cultural figures of the early twentieth century.- External links:...
in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. At the 1911 world exhibition in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
he won first prize and had another exhibition in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
in 1913. He belonged to the circle of Jaroslav Hašek
Jaroslav Hašek
Jaroslav Hašek was a Czech humorist, satirist, writer and socialist anarchist best known for his novel The Good Soldier Švejk, an unfinished collection of farcical incidents about a soldier in World War I and a satire on the ineptitude of authority figures, which has been translated into sixty...
and Egon Erwin Kisch
Egon Erwin Kisch
Egon Erwin Kisch was a Czechoslovak writer and journalist, who wrote in German. Known as the The raging reporter from Prague, Kisch was noted for his development of literary reportage and his opposition to Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime.- Biography :Kisch was born into a wealthy, German-speaking...
and in 1916 married Erna Hauswald in Dresden where he occupied a studio at Sedanstraße 7.
From 1919, and coincidental with his friendship with Madame d'Ora (Dora Kallmus
Dora Kallmus
Dora Kallmus was an Austrian-Jewish fashion and portrait photographer who went by the name of "Madame D'Ora".-Life:...
, of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
who was later to move to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) he began to work with a 9×12 folding camera
Folding camera
A folding camera is a camera that can be folded to a compact and rugged package when not in use. The camera objective is sometimes attached to a pantograph-like mechanism, in which the lid usually is a component. The objective extends to give correct focus when unfolded. A cloth or leather bellows...
and in 1924 became one of the first professional photographers to use a Leica. After expanding his studio in 1925, he took part in the exhibition "Film und Foto" in Stuttgart.
The outstanding publication on the city of Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, conceived in the spirit of Die Neue Sachlichkeit, is one of the first illustrated works created according to the new principles of photography. It marks a turning point in his work. To the same series of publications, published by Adolf Behne
Adolf Behne
Adolf Behne was a critic, art historian, architectural writer, and artistic activist. He was one of the leaders of the Avant Garde in the Weimar Republic....
, belongs 'Berlin in Bildern' by Sasha Stone. That work was the subject of a show at the turn of the year (2006/7) in the Berlinischen Galerie.
Fiedler's studio was destroyed on 13 February 1945. All that was left was a box with photographs for exhibition which was deposited with his family in Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
. After 1945 he did not have his own studio and earned a living in the GDR
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
as author of books on photography. Anneliese Kretschmer, Dortmund, is one of his pupils.
Publications
- Dresden in Bildern', Aufnahmen von Franz Fiedler, herausgegeben von Hans Wolfgang Singer, Wien, Leipzig, Verlag Dr. Hans Epstein, 1930 ('Orbis urbium – Schöne Städte in schönen Bildern').
- Dufek, Antonin, Franz Fiedler, Fotografie/Photographs/Fotografien (Brünn, Prag, 2005)
- Franz Fiedler. Fotografie. Technische Sammlungen der Stadt Dresden, Ausstellung 4.4.-3.6.2007