Josef Koudelka, On 22 and 23 August, Wenceslas Square was Cleared of People, August 1968 1968, printed 1970s. Tate. © Josef Koudelka / MAGNUM Photos, Courtesy of the Josef Koudelka Foundation.
12 rooms in Artist and Society
Informed by his experiences of political upheaval and exile, Josef Koudelka captures 20th-century Europe through a critical, yet poetic, lens
Born in 1938 in Moravia, then part of Czechoslovakia, Koudelka experienced the dissolution of the state, its reformation and subsequent communist rule. In 1968, Soviet forces invaded Prague, the nation’s capital. Koudelka took to the streets, capturing the events with his camera. He fled Prague in 1970, receiving political asylum in the UK, and began a nomadic life.
Each of the series displayed in this room – Exiles, Gypsies and Invasion – resonates with Koudelka’s personal experiences. He produced works which echoed his feelings of alienation and isolation as an exile. At the same time, there is often beauty and hope in his photographs, notably in his depictions of musicians, human interactions and the subtle nuances of everyday life. ‘Never stay for a long time in one place’, Koudelka wrote in the late 1970s. ‘When you stop somewhere … things start to stick. When you go from one place to another, you are cleaning yourself.’ Freedom and exile, it seems, might be two sides of the same coin.
Koudelka’s work is embedded in photography’s humanist tradition, which seeks to depict authentic human experiences. Although the photographs in this room were taken of different subjects in different places, when placed together they reveal a timeless narrative of societal and personal transformation.
Josef Koudelka, Spain 1975
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Josef Koudelka, Ireland 1976
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Josef Koudelka, Germany 1979
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Josef Koudelka, England 1976
In Exiles, Josef Koudelka documents his travels across Europe after fleeing Czechoslovakia in 1970. He remained stateless until 1987 when he received French citizenship. This time in his life was characterised by a desire for freedom and a constant state of restlessness. According to Koudelka, he never stayed anywhere longer than three months. Exiles reflects his sense of displacement and discovery of both himself and his surroundings. His photographs of desolate landscapes, abandoned urban scenes and solitary moments show his understanding of complex composition and tone.
Gallery label, March 2025
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Josef Koudelka, Ireland 1972
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Josef Koudelka, Wales 1974
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Josef Koudelka, Czechoslovakia 1968
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Josef Koudelka, On 22 and 23 August, Wenceslas Square was Cleared of People, August 1968 1968, printed 1970s
This image of an arm held up against Prague’s Wenceslas Square has become Josef Koudelka’s most iconic photograph. The usually bustling square is eerily quiet. For a long time, Koudelka thought he had taken the photograph at 6pm. This would have been proof the Czechoslovakian people had not fallen for a Soviet ruse to attend an evening protest and given the soldiers an excuse to attack. Years later, however, he realised the watch read 12 noon when the square had also been cleared.
Gallery label, March 2025
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artworks in Joseph Koudelka
Josef Koudelka, Defending the Czechoslovak Radio Building, Prague, August 1968 1968, printed 1970s
‘The Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 concerned my life directly. It was my country. I took these photographs for myself, not for a magazine. It was only by chance that they were published. I wasn’t a reporter. I had never photographed anything that you would call ‘news’. Suddenly, for the first time in my life, I was confronted with that kind of situation. I responded to it. I knew it was important to photograph, so I photographed.’
Taken with remarkable proximity, Josef Koudelka’s photographs were first shown to the international public the following year. For his safety, they were credited to ‘an unknown photographer’.
Gallery label, March 2025
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artworks in Joseph Koudelka
Josef Koudelka, Spain 1971
In Exiles, Josef Koudelka documents his travels across Europe after fleeing Czechoslovakia in 1970. He remained stateless until 1987 when he received French citizenship. This time in his life was characterised by a desire for freedom and a constant state of restlessness. According to Koudelka, he never stayed anywhere longer than three months. Exiles reflects his sense of displacement and discovery of both himself and his surroundings. His photographs of desolate landscapes, abandoned urban scenes and solitary moments show his understanding of complex composition and tone.
Gallery label, March 2025
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artworks in Joseph Koudelka
Josef Koudelka, At the Czechoslovak Radio Building, Vinohradská Avenue, Prague, August 1968 1968, printed 1970s
‘The Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 concerned my life directly. It was my country. I took these photographs for myself, not for a magazine. It was only by chance that they were published. I wasn’t a reporter. I had never photographed anything that you would call ‘news’. Suddenly, for the first time in my life, I was confronted with that kind of situation. I responded to it. I knew it was important to photograph, so I photographed.’
Taken with remarkable proximity, Josef Koudelka’s photographs were first shown to the international public the following year. For his safety, they were credited to ‘an unknown photographer’.
Gallery label, March 2025
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artworks in Joseph Koudelka
Josef Koudelka, France 1976
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Art in this room
Josef Koudelka
Spain
1975
Josef Koudelka
Ireland
1976
Josef Koudelka
Germany
1979
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Josef Koudelka
Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Rakasy
1966
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Josef Koudelka
Romania
1968
Sorry, no image available
Josef Koudelka
Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Zehra
1967
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