This exhibition consists of a selection of early photographs created by Jiří Šámal, which were taken during the 1950‘s. The core theme among them is the form and life of the previous Czechoslovak metropolis, which was discovered by the future cameraman while he was still a student at the Production, later Camera, faculty at a Prague university, FAMU. Near his then-student accommodation, so-called ‘faculty dorms’ that are still located on Hradební Street on the edge of Staré Město, Šámal discovered some of the first photographic subjects.

Photography did not solely represent the spontaneous creative need that Jiří Šámal brought to Prague from his childhood in south Moravia. It further highlighted the mandatory part and then the core means of film education, which at first greatly outweighed personal work with a camera. In one of his first collections, Šámal concentrated on themes from ‘Na Františku’ in Prague. Within this ‘district inside a district’, the future photographer and cameraman managed to capture the historic atmosphere of the previous peasant enclave right before it was drastically changed through sanitation interventions and the reconstruction of the grounds of the previous Anežkovský Monastery.

The object of great visual interest for Šámal were the events on Prague’s embankments, which not only represented a place to enjoy oneself, including fishing but also the intense work environment, as can be showcased in the collection ‘Fish Boxes on the Vltava River’. Within the collection, Šámal captured the dynamic of a traditional catch of the South Bohemian Carp, temporarily placed in Vltava. Additional subjects, such as lonely pedestrian on the Town Hall stairs, saleswomen with scales in front of a shop in Melantrichova Street, the delivery of coal on a ladder in now a demolished part of old Žižkov or the automobile Tatraplan driving in front of a two-wheeler in Hradební street add to the perception of the atmosphere of the city during the fifties. In the background of the scenery of the ‘olden times’, which evokes the era of the first republic and the Austrian monarchy, the big city life melts together with a certain abandonment of spaces due to the grip of the communist totality. The unifying point of view on that version of Prague remains its picturesque plasticity, which is further highlighted by the photographer thanks to the help of lighting contrast.

Petr Šámal

(CV) Jiří Šámal (*1934) is primarily a cameraman. He entered the world of film in the Czechoslovak New Wave era. His contribution to this phenomenon, on the one hand, is framed through the collaboration on an internationally awarded graduate’s movie ‘Mouthful’ by the director Jan Němec, on the other hand, is highlighted through his film camera in movies, which after its premiere, or even before its completion, because of its content, moral overlap, or expressive harshness, it was later transported to the vault. This included the movies ‘Shame’ (1967) by director Ladislav Helge and the early works of Hynek Bočan such as ‘Honor and Glory’ (1968) and ‘Juvie Detention’ (1968, finished in 1990). During this era, Jiří Šámal worked also on several other cinematic artworks. He was presented with the Barrandov Trilobite award for ‘Getaway’(1967), directed by Štěpán Skalský, thanks to its mysterious and dark atmosphere he outdid the original literary version initially aimed at children audiences. Additionally, resulting from the previously mentioned factors, we can consider it one of the first Czech ‘road movies’. During this time, Šámal worked as a cameraman on many awarded early television movies, such as ‘How Theatre is Made’ (director Jiřina Pokorná-Makoszová, 1969) or ‘Barometer’ (director Antonín Moskalyk, 1969).

Later, Šámal stood behind the camera while creating a number of films, from which many became well-recognizable for the spectators. The director of many of the them was Antonín Moskalyk (‘Grandmother’, 1971; ‘Third Prince’, 1982; ‘Cuckoo in a Dark Forest’, 1984), with whom he too shot a television series, ‘Panopticon of the City of Prague’ (1987). Other directors that Šámal worked with include Jiří Krejčík, Jaromír Bolek, and Jaroslav Papoušek. Alongside his film career, Jiří Šámal is also a co-author of audiovisual projects and a creator of lighting concepts for many historical monuments (ex. Carevec castle in Bulgaria). Šámal’s artistic qualities were acknowledged by the Czech Cameraman Association, which presented him with a Lifetime’s Achievement Award in 2021. During this year, on the occasion of a lifetime jubilee, Jiří Šámal has received an award from the City of Třebíč, his birthplace, for his contribution to Czech cinematography.

Šámal’s work as a photographer is frequently connected to filming locations. If Šámal wasn’t behind the film camera, he tirelessly captured everything around him, from taking portraits of actors and crew members, to people preparing the scenes. Furthermore, Jiří Šámal also devoted his time to documentary and advertising photography, however, he spent the most of his time photographing for his enjoyment. Therefore, his archive is a treasure chest of themes from cinematography, everyday life, social events, fine arts, and natural and urban scenes.