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This book combines the traditional Slavic tale "We Three Brothers" by Karel Jaromír Erben with illustrative photographs and drawings by Jan Jedlicka. The story is just one of dozens collected and retold by Czech folklorist and poet Erben (1811-70) and is a cautionary tale of three young brothers, sons of a peasant who leave home to find their way in the world, only to meet a mysterious man with a limp who seals their unfortunate fates. Jedlicka visualizes the story in muted black-and-white images of a landscape of empty hills and rocky outcrops through which we imagine the brothers traveling. These he complements with more whimsical drawings of the characters of the tale: the brothers and their father, the limping man, a peddler and magistrate. The result is an unconventional modernization of a little-known tale, whose charm and moral still have an uncanny resonance today.Sprachen: Deutsch, Englisch, Tschechisch
About the author
Karel Jaromír Erben (1811–70) was a Czech poet, historian and archivist with a particular interest in the folklore of his homeland. Born in Miletín near Jičín, Erben studied philosophy and law in Prague before working there as a court legal official. In 1843 the Czech patriot and historian František Palacký recruited him to join the National Museum; Erben was appointed archives’ secretary there in 1850. Erben’s books include his Romantic ballads Kytice z pověstí národních (A Bouquet of Folk Legends) of 1853 and his retelling of traditional stories Sto prostonárodních pohádek a pověstí slovanských v nářečích původních (One Hundred Slavic Folktales and Legends in Original Dialects) of 1865.Jan Jedlička was born in Prague in 1944, where he studied painting at the academy before immigrating to Switzerland in 1969. He turned to photography rather late in his career. Jedlička’s work has been exhibited at museums and galleries throughout Europe, including Kunstmuseum and Kunsthalle Winterthur, the National Gallery of Prague, Centro Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in La Spezia, and the Josef Albers Museum in Bottrop. Steidl published his Il Cerchio / The Circle in 2008 and 200 m in 2020. Jedlička has had a long connection with Italy, and lives in Zurich and Prague.
Summary
This book combines the traditional Slavic tale “We Three Brothers” by Karel Jaromír Erben with illustrative photographs and drawings by Jan Jedlička. The story is just one of dozens collected and retold by Czech folklorist and poet Erben (1811–70) and is a cautionary tale of three young brothers, sons of a peasant who leave home to find their way in the world, only to meet a mysterious man with a limp who seals their unfortunate fates. Jedlička visualizes the story in muted black-and-white images of a landscape of empty hills and rocky outcrops through which we imagine the brothers traveling. These he complements with more whimsical drawings of the characters of the tale: the brothers and their father, the limping man, a peddler and magistrate. The result is an unconventional modernization of a little-known tale, whose charm and moral still have an uncanny resonance today.
