Josef Koudelka (Czech, b. 1938). Reconstruction of a Homicide. In the Foreground: a Young Gipsy Suspected of Being Guilty,...

Description

Josef Koudelka (Czech, b. 1938)
Reconstruction of a Homicide. In the Foreground: a Young Gipsy Suspected of Being Guilty, Jarabina, Czechoslovakia, 1963
Gelatin silver print, printed early 1980s. Signed in ink, lower margin recto.
image: 9 x 14 inches (22.9 x 35.6 cm)
sheet: 12 x 16 inches

PROVENANCE:
Swann Galleries New York, Fine Photographs: Icons & Images, October 17, 2014, lot 229.

LITERATURE:
S. Alexander & W. Guy, Koudelka: Gitans, Paris, Delpire, 2019, pl. 32.

This sale includes several important examples of works by Josef Koudelka from his celebrated series on the lives of Roma gypsies in Slovakia. These powerful studies not only document the transitory lifestyle and culture of the Roma, but also show the persecution they experience at the hands of the authorities and the indigenous population. Here, an anxious young man, who is suspected of murder, is shown standing alone wearing handcuffs against a backdrop of police and bystanders.


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