Italy through the lens of Count Chotek: in Rivarolo (Turin) his unpublished photographs

On May 17, 2025, at 4 p.m., the photo exhibition Karel Chotek. Italian travels of a blue-blooded photographer. The exhibition, curated by Jan Vaca and Jiří Preclík and organized by Karin Reisová in collaboration with Areacreativa42 and the Czech Center in Milan, will remain open until June 22. This will be the first presentation in Italy of the work of Karel Chotek(Velké Březno, 1853-1926), a Bohemian nobleman belonging to one of the most influential families of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who for more than 30 years, between 1885 and the beginning of the 20th century, devoted himself continuously to photography.

Long remaining unknown, Chotek’s photographic output was rediscovered only beginning in the late 1990s, when a series of fortuitous finds revealed the existence of a substantial body of images made between Central Europe and Italy. The exhibition focuses in particular on the shots taken during his frequent sojourns in the peninsula, which began at least as early as 1895, and offers the public a visual survey of the Italian landscape through the eyes of an educated and passionate amateur, endowed with a careful and conscious style.

There are numerous photographs devoted to the northern regions and South Tyrol, but there is no shortage of sea views and urban glimpses of the Ligurian Riviera, among the author’s favorite destinations. This is the case, for example, with the resort of Nervi, where Chotek took a photograph entitled An der Riviera, published in 1895 in the magazine Wiener Photographische Blätter. However, not all of the locations depicted have been identified with certainty: some images retain an enigmatic component, which is why the curators invite Italian visitors to actively contribute to the recognition process by sharing any clues that may be helpful in identifying the places.

The opening of the exhibition will be attended by Consul and Vice Consul General of the Czech Republic Ivana Zandona, the director of the Regional Museum in Ústí nad Labem, Václav Houfek , and the director of the Czech Center in Milan Robert Mikoláš. At the opening, it will also be possible to taste beer brewed in Velké Březno, the photographer’s hometown, now under the Heineken brand. Of that factory, which is well known in the region, Chotek also once portrayed workers at work. The exhibition project is the result of collaboration with a number of important Czech institutions, including the Regional Museum of Ústí nad Labem, the Regional State Archives in Prague, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, the National Heritage Institute of Ústí nad Labem, and the City of Rivarolo Canavese. The initiative is held under the patronage of the Piedmont Region, the Metropolitan City of Turin and the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Milan. The photographic work of Karel Chotek is part of the new cycle of exhibitions promoted by Areacreativa42, an association founded and directed by Karin Reisová, active in the area since 2008. The program, planned for the next two years, aims to enhance the role of archives in the preservation and dissemination of artistic memory.

The rediscovery of Chotek’s work began in 1999, when some photographic equipment, including a projection machine, and a group of glass negatives were found in the attic of the former bourgeois school in Velké Březno. Two years later, in January 2001, more materials emerged in Líčkov Castle in the form of suitcases containing prints and negatives that had been moved there from Velké Březno Castle around 1962. The latest discovery, dating from January 2025, occurred in a building near the same family castle: a suitcase containing additional negatives, many of them damaged. The materials are currently undergoing restoration work, which could add new elements to our knowledge of the Bohemian photographer.

Notes on the artist

Karel Chotek was born in Velké Březno in 1853 and, after a course of studies in Vienna and a brief diplomatic career, returned to the family estate in 1883 following the death of his father. From that very moment he began to devote himself steadily to photography, developing a practice that accompanied him for over thirty years. Beginning in 1891 he became a member of the Vienna Camera Club, a point of reference for the photographic culture of the time, attended among others by Heinrich Kühn. It was with Kühn that Chotek shared an interest in the fishermen of the Netherlands, a subject that also recurs in his output. His images were published regularly in trade magazines and in some cases awarded official prizes. In the course of his work, Chotek also experimented with different photographic techniques. In early portraits he used processes such as charcoal printing and gum bichromate. However, because of the predominance of glass negatives among the material received, it is not always possible to determine precisely which printing methods he favored in the final stage.

Italy through the lens of Count Chotek: in Rivarolo (Turin) his unpublished photographs

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