History of Polish photography

1. History of Polishphotography

2. Photography Photography,whichidea is based on the well-known since ancient times „camera obscura”,is the result of the Cartesian way of thinking about the world, inconsequenceit’stheresult of arecord and consolidation of changing reality with the help of technical equipment - optical. So it is a combination of scientific and artaspectsof the invention .

3. A bit of history The origins of Polish photography were associated with the development of economy and cultureon theterritories under Austrian, Prussian and Russianpartitions. That's why photographers from Polish territories were active both in Paris and St. Petersburg as well as in the cities of Ukraine and Siberia.

4. First talbotypes (and probably daguerreotypes)weremade in 1839 by an engineer from Kielce Province, Maximilian Strasz. In 1856 hepublishedthecoursebook on thetopic of takingpictures. Examples of daguerreotypes

5. Theoldestpreserveddaguerreotypesdate back to 1839 and weremade by Andrzej Radwanski. Thistechnique - thedaguerreotypeprocessinphotographydominated to 1860s. Daguerreotypes of Warsaw

6. Otherswhocreatedpicturesusingthistechniquewere: Marcin Zalewski, a painterfrom Warsaw (considered to be thefather of artisticphotographyin Poland), Józef GloisnerfromLviv, Jan Stefan KuczynskifromKrakow and a well- known Warsaw lithographerScholtz Moritz - one of the first professionaldaguerrotypists on Polishlandswhopublished his lithographicprintsbased on his owndaguerreotypes.

7. The most important Polishphotographer inthe 19th c. was Karol Beyer, not only dagerotypist, but also a patriot, antiquarian, publisher of numerous photo albums, acting in Warsaw since 1845. He took pictures in different techniques: collodion, stereoscope, ambrotype, and the carte de visite. He was an outstanding portraitist, who reached the European level, whatcould be seenin his psychological portraits. He was also a pioneer in scientific and „sightseeing” photography. His colleagues were Marcin Olszynski and KonradBrandel. Karol Beyer

8. Some of theoldestpictures of Warsaw by Karol Beyer

9. Events of the January Uprising of 1863 and the demonstrations immediately preceding them, were an impulse to the creation of photographs taken as a form of political agitation and even political struggle (K.Beyer, WaleryRzewuski and others.). Photosfromthe time of January Uprising

10. In thesecondhalf of the 19th c. collodionphotography was mainlydeveloped and the major photographicstudioswereestablishedin Warsaw. An important Warsaw photographer was Jan Mieczkowski (competingwithBeyer). He was an eminentportraitpainter, awardedinnumerousphotographicsalonsin Europe and Asia. By Jan Mieczkowski

11. TherewerealsophotographicstudiosinKrakow and Lviv (conducted by Józef Eder, Edward Trzemeski). Otherimportant Warsaw studioswere run by Konrad Brandel, Maksymilian Fajans and Walerian Twardzicki. Konrad Brandel Photos of Warsaw by Brandel

12. Many dagerotype photo studiosacross Poland becameinterestedinthetechnique of wet collodion. The major studiosusingthistechniquewereconducted by Wacław Rzewuski inKrakow, Józef Czechowicz and Alexander Wladyslaw Strauss inVilnius, and Michał Greimin Kamieniec Podolski, a painterwhobecameinterestedinphotographyinthe 1860s. He considered a photograph as a document- an ethnographicportrait. Thiskind of activity, understood as a form of national self-awareness development, was practicedinKrakowportraitsinthe form of carte de viste by Rzewuski, Ignacy Kriger, and inthe 90s by Walerian Twardzicki.

13. Another specialty of Polishphotographers of that time was photography of mountains, because inthe culture of the region artistic rootsweresought, which could revive the Polish culture. The TatraMountains photography pioneer in the 1870s was Awit Schubertwho was also an outstanding portraitist. StanisławBizański and Walery EliaszRadzikowskialsocreatedphotographs and albums on the theme of mountains. Awit Schubert , the Tatra Mountains

14. Alsopress photographydevelopedalong with more and more improved technology in the late 19th c. The first Polish press photographer was KonradBrandel. He is considered to be a constructor of a „photogun" (handheld camera) for snapshots in 1881. In the early 20th c. Łukasz Dobrzański createdevenmore modernworks, e.g. photosfromEgypt. He worked forthenewspaper "The Illustrated Weekly" and was known and rewarded for photographyon international stage, too.

15. Lviv In 1891 theClub of Photographic Art Lovers was formedinLviv (itwas later transformed into theLvivPhotographic Society). This way the art photography movement began to develop and it was centered around HenrykMikolasch, JózefŚwitkowski, Rudolf Huber and others. In 1895 the club started to publish "Photography Review" - the first magazine dedicated to photographyin the Polish territories. In 1901 Photographic Society wasalsoestablished in Warsaw.

16. In about1908 Jan Bułhak, described later as the "father of Polish photography", inspired by the ideas of the painter FerdynandRuszczyc, created in a theoretical (the books "Photography ", "Aesthetics of light ", "Native Photography") and artistic way thework that was the nature of art photography. Jan Bułhak

17. Jan Bułhakwas an outstanding portraitist of architecture and spiritual climate initially of Vilnius (1912-1919), then in the 1920s and 30s of thewholePolish country. His ultimate goal was “native photography” - hewanted to show the nationvalues. Gdańsk Vilnius

18. The second most important center of Polish pictorialism was Lviv. The most significantphotographersgatheredintheLviv Photographic SocietywereHenrykMikolasch, JózefŚwitkowski, Witold Romer, Jan Alojzy Neuman, Franciszek Groer  and Janina Mierzecka. HenrykMikolasch

19. Poznań pictorialism was presented by Tadeusz Cyprian, BoleslawGardulski and TadeuszWański, author of the romantic and nostalgic landscapes, considered to be the greatest follower of Bułhak’s traditionafter World War II . Photos of Tadeusz Wański

20. In the 1930s pictorialistsstarted to photograph street scenes, physicalworkers. Bulhakhimself(as well as e.g.Romer) in the 1930s undertook modernist themes, photographed in a harsh way. In this way, pictorialism approached the "new photography", which was rejectedjust a few years earlier .

21. It is worth noting that the Polish pictorialists maintained extensive international contact, theyparticipated in international salons around the world. Cyprian was a correspondent for the annual "Photograms of the Year” in the UK. In Poland such magazines as "Photographer" and "PhotographicMonthlyMagazine"wereissued. Tadeusz Cyprian

22. Photography of an avant-garde style was created by artists, but there was absolute isolation and a reluctance among Polish pictorialists and representatives of classical avant-garde. Photography was a modern weapon in the fight for a new art, but also a form of political agitation, usually in the form of photomontage.

23. Quite a unique position among modernist photographershas Stanisław IgnacyWitkiewicz (Witkacy) - outstanding art theorist, playwright and unfulfilled painter, for whomphotography was a multi-functional instrument to learn or mask his identity and personality. He didn’tcreatelandscapeor pictorial photography, but instead psychologically deep portraits and self-portraits. His most valuable pictures weretaken between 1912-1919. Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, a photo self-portrait

24. Photo report did not develop in Poland, as in Germany or Czechoslovakia for various reasons. In Poland, documentary photography had two forms. The first was intended for the press at that time. It showed the political events in a social context (Jan Ryś and Henryk Śmigacz – photographers for „KurierWarszawski”). The second form was not addressed to mass audience and was an expression of professionalactivity. The exceptions are pictures byAleksanderMinorski documenting the lives of poor inhabitants of Warsawin 1930s, images of Polish Jews in Warsaw by Roman Vishniakafromthe late 1930s and photosof Vilnius by MojżeszWorobiejczyk. A photo by Jan Ryś inthenewspaper „Kurier Warszawski” Henryk Śmigacz

25. The most importantPolish war photographersare Jan Ryś and Henryk Śmiagacz, whodocumentedSeptember 1939 inthe capital city of Warsaw, and photographers of Warsaw Uprisingin 1944 - Tadeusz Bukowski, Sylwester Braun and Eugeniusz Lokajski, whophotographedeven a marriedcouple of insurgents. World War II

26. AfterWorld War II in 1946, theexhibition of photos by Bułhak presentingtheruins of Warsaw was heldat the National Museum in Warsaw. Ruins of Warsaw, Jan Bułhak

27. In 1947, with the initiative of Bułhak and Leonard SempolińskithePolish Artists -Photographers Association was established, renamed in 1952 to eventually existing tillnowadaysthe Union of Polish Art Photographers. It was a continuation of Photo-Polish Club withthe concept of art photography, but adapted to the realities of life in a socialist country which political directives could not get past photographs.

28. Zofia Rydet, a photograph from theseries “Sociological record", 1978-1988 Nevertheless artists resisted the comunist state's demands for realism in art by drawing on the tradition of the avant-garde, adopting a strategy called "neoavant-garde ". Photographersdirectedtheir creative energies towards experiments. The most widelyknownavant-gardephotographerswere Zbigniew Dłubak, Zdzisław Beksiński, Jerzy Lewczyński, Bronisław Schlabs, Andrzej Pawłowski, Natalia Lach-Lachowicz, Józef Robakowski, Zofia Rydet, Adam Bujak, Stefan Wojnecki, Henryk Rogoziński (from Bielsk Podlaski) and many others. „Zone III” Henryk Rogoziński, a self-portrait

29. Currently a number of artists who can be classified as classical avant-garde still retain a very strong position in Polish photography. One of these classics is Zbigniew Dłubak (born in1921), who was one of the leaders of the analytical and conceptual trends in Polish art for many years. In the 1990s he had a few large retrospective exhibitionsin Poland that evoked discussions about the current role of the avant-garde tradition. Zbigniew Dłubak, "Streets are for people not for the sun", 1948

30. „Mirror” An outstanding personality in contemporary art is also Natalia Lach-Lachowicz (bornin 1937), who in the 1970scooperatedwith Dłubak in the group "Permafo". Many of her works are photographic images of her own face. Natalia LL

31. Józef Robakowski(bornin 1939)isalso constantly active, who currently creates works of video art, photography, installation and painting. Video performance „I’melectrical” Józef Robakowski

32. It’sworth to notetwo photographers who have run independently of the collective trends. Edward Hartwig (1909-2003) developed his own style, based on emphasizing the graphic qualities, making free use of different inspirations. Edward Hartwig, „Self-portrait”

33. Krzysztof Gierałtowski (born 1938)hasalso a strong personality, since the 1970shascontinued a series of portraits of people, where he tries to reveal the inner traits of their personalities. In general, hetends to achieve a strong expression, which is supposed to indicate a fundamental existential questions. Krzysztof Gierałtowski

34. The source of inspiration and reference for the Polish artistic photography of the last decade is undoubtedly art avant-garde of the sixties and seventies. However, contemporary artists whodraw on this tradition, areoften more focused on experimentation with materials and techniques that new mediaenable. TodayArt Photography is very often one of thecomponents of the system, larger projects, etc., thatmeansitis on the borderline of art photography, performance and video art. Katarzyna Kozyra againsttheinstallation „Spring Holiday”

35. Curiosity One of the first colourphotos was madeinabout 1900 by „Polish Edison” - Jan Szczepanik. He patentedthismethodinthe USA and Great Britain. Later, in 1928, the American company Kodak introducedthecolour film "Kodachrome" based on theSzczepanik’slicense and the German company Agfa, afterimproving his project, produceditsowndevice "Agfacolor". One of first colour photos taken by its inventor Jan Szczepanik. A label of the packet of sensitive paper for colour photography which was invented by Jan Szczepanik.

36. WiktorWolkow(born inApril 4, 1942 in Bialystok, diedinMarch 27, 2012 in Supraśl) – an artist and photographer who camefromour region. He specializedin landscape and nature photography of Polish Northeast. Since 1973 he was a member of the Union of Polish Art Photographers. Wolkowprepared about one hundred solo exhibitions and more than a dozen of albums, he was a winner of over 100 awards in national and international competitions. He’sconsidered to be a master of mood, impressionist, romanticist, and even a localphotographic chauvinist.

37. Thispresentation was prepared by: • Fiedoruk Julia • Grabowska Weronika • Oksiuta Wioleta • Wąż Gabriela