At the Czechoslovak Radio Building, Vinohradská Avenue, Prague, August 1968
- Artist: Josef Koudelka
- Date: 1968, printed 1970s
- Medium: Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper
- Dimensions: image: 357 × 552 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
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About this artwork
This is "At the Czechoslovak Radio Building, Vinohradská Avenue, Prague, August 1968" by Josef Koudelka. The medium is a gelatin silver print on paper. The image captures a tense moment during the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Koudelka was not a professional reporter; he shot the scene for himself, standing dangerously close to the action. In the frame we see Soviet soldiers sitting on a tank, while a Czech civilian raises his arm in defiance, chanting against the occupiers. The photograph is part of his Invasion 68 : Prague series, which documents the seven days of conflict. Though taken in 1968, the print was produced in the 1970s and was first shown to the world the following year, credited to an anonymous photographer for safety. Koudelka’s work is renowned for its raw immediacy and the courage it captured, reminding us that even in moments of crisis, ordinary people rise to defend freedom.
See it in person
At the Czechoslovak Radio Building, Vinohradská Avenue, Prague, August 1968 is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
