The Prague photographer Jan Langhans was a leading portraitist in Bohemia. From 1888 to 1848 hundred of thousands of people had their portraits made in his studio. After the Communist takeover, Ateliér Langhans was nationalized and the photographic gallery that has resulted over the years ended up in a warehouse outside Prague. Before the planned renovation of the building in Vodičkova ulice, where Ateliér Langhans had once been located, in autumn 1998 werefound about 300 boxes of glass negatives – substantial part of the Langhans Gallery. The discovery of the negatives has returned to Czech history not only the name of Jan Langhans but also a part of Czech national identity: known and forgotten faces of leading figures in the arts, sciences, and politics.
Note
This project was a part of the official program “Prague 2000 European City of Culture”.
Curators: Zuzana Meisnerová, Petr Nedoma