His work was the subject of attempts at censorship in the West during the 1990s. Religious motifs or the ambiguity between man and woman have also been some of Jan Saudek’s recurring themes. His later works often portrayed the evolution from child to adult (re-photographing the same composition/pose, and with the same subjects, over many years). His early art photography is noted for its evocation of childhood. Can you remember hand tinting? In this they echo the studio and tableaux works of mid nineteenth century erotic photographers, as well as the works of the painter Balthus. His best-known work is noted for its hand-tinted portrayal of painterly dream worlds, often inhabited by nude or semi-nude figures surrounded by bare plaster walls or painted backdrops. In 1987, the archives of his negatives were seized by the police, but later returned. The same year, he became a freelance photographer as the Czech Communist authorities allowed him to cease working in the print shop, and gave him permission to apply for a permit to work as an artist. In 1983, the first book of his work was published in the English-speaking world. From the late 1970s, he became recognized in the West as the leading Czech photographer, and also developed a following among photographers in his own country. To avoid the attentions of the secret police as his work turned to themes of personal erotic freedom. Returning to Prague, he was forced to work in a clandestine manner in a cellar. In 1969, he traveled to the United States and was encouraged in his work by curator Hugh Edwards. After completing his military service, he was inspired in 1963 by the catalogue for Edward Steichen’s “The Family of Man” exhibition, and started his journey to become a serious art photographer. Although he seemed to favor Rolleiflex cameras in later years.

In 1959, his wife gave him a more professional Flexaret 6×6 camera. He apprenticed to a photographer and in 1952 started working as a print shop worker, where he worked until 1983. In a Jan Saudek biography, he reveals he got his first camera in 1950.

Jan saudek art