"Two Men Kissing" is a celebration of gay love. Unlike Saudek’s hallmark surreal and dreamlike photographs, for this work the artist documents shared intimacy - a passionate loving embrace and kiss between men. Saudek’s focus on love and eroticism transforms the portrait into a more complex story of desire, tenderness, and pathos.
Two Men Kissing, 1986 is an 7" x 9" vintage gelatin silver print, hand-tinted, a signed, dated, titled, portrait by the Czech artist Jan Saudek. Matted: 12" x 16".
Provenance: Private Collector
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Artist’s Bio:
Jan Saudek is a celebrated Czech artist born May, 1935. He is an art photographer and painter. Considered one of the most creative artists in Prague, he made most of his photographs from the 1960s-1990s, with many hand-colored and each a print unique. For Saudek's images shot in his studio and on location, the photographer used the same models for years. Committed to expressing his personal vision, Saudek never stopped celebrating life, liberty, sensuality, and close relationships regardless of the political regime. The artist's works have been included in The Family of Man, 1955 by Edward Steichen, and Saudek is commonly associated with Alfons Mucha, Lewis Carroll, Hans Bellmer, Duane Michals, and Robert Mapplethorpe. The Czech photographer's focus remains on human nature, with the belief that no one escapes his destiny: life, aging, and death are his subjects. Notable works include, The World of Jan Saudek: Photographs; Jan Saudek - Il teatro della vita; Story from Czechoslovakia, My Country; and Photographs by Jan Saudek. Additionally, Saudek's art gained prominence during the 1990s because of his collaboration with the publisher Taschen.
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