432 - Milada Sourková 1897–1968

Milada Sourková 1897–1968 Under the Wheel, ca. 1925, vintage print On the reverse, a contemporary hand (probably the artist’s own) has titled the work “Training,” with the artist’s name and the location “Prague-Smichov”; it is also stamped “Rolleiflex photograph” and “Franke & Heidecke” (founded in 1920, Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Optics, Braunschweig), “Factory for Photographic Precision Instruments,” dimensions, and various numbers in pencil To understand the subject matter, it is worth consulting Rüdiger Safranski’s book: *Romanticism, a German Affair*, Munich 2007, p. 206, where the author refers to a text by Wilh. Wackenroder (1773–1798), “A Wonderful Oriental Fairy Tale,” interpreted by R. Safranski: “The saint in the fairy tale ceaselessly hears the wheel of time whirling round and must therefore constantly perform the vigorous movements of a man striving to turn an enormous wheel. This naked saint makes the concept of the modern working community perfectly clear: It is no longer the results that matter, but the work process itself… Being busy is everything.” Sisyphus comes to mind, and the comparison with the world of machines in Fritz Lang’s *Metropolis* suggests itself, as does the reference to Lewis W. Hine’s *Power House Mechanic*, 1920; Hermann Hesse’s novel “Under the Wheel” was published in 1906 17.8 × 14 cm