DOI article:
Papp, Júlia: Die Anfänge der institutionellen Kunstfotografie in Ungarn (1859-1885)
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.73804#0013
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SUMMARY
Julia Papp
THE BEGINNINGS OF INSTITUTIONAL ARTWORK
PHOTOGRAPHY IN HUNGARY (1859-1885)
In the fifth section of the first congress of art history, orga-
nized in Vienna in 1873, titled Reproductionen von Kunst-
werken und deren Verbreitung im Interesse der Museen und
des Kunstunterrichtes, the participants discussed the ma-
king and distribution of artwork reproductions and their
use for museums and educational purposes. The topic was
very relevant at the time, since in the 19th c. in Europe the
making of galvanoplastic and plaster cast reproductions
reached almost industrial proportions. In the second half
of the 19th c. the photography of artworks also started to
flourish. In Western Europe in the 1850s began the photo-
graphy of architectural monuments and the most valuable
treasures of major museums and collections. In Hungary,
the use of artwork photographs by institutions began in
the 1860s by the committee for historic preservation of
the Hungarian Academy of Sciences: one of their tasks
was to search for artistic monuments and collect descrip-
tions, drawings and photographs of them. Most of the do-
cuments, including the photographs, were given to the
committee by enthusiastic patriots of the countryside. In
the 1870s, the most valuable treasures of museums, lib-
raries and church collections also began to be requested
to be photographed, now by professional photographers.
These photographers, often competing with each other,
also created the photography series - which sometimes
included hundreds of pictures - which recorded the histo-
ric exhibitions organized in the 1870s and 1880s (the 1873
Vienna Worlds Fair, a book exhibition in 1882, an exhibi-
tion of metal artworks in 1884 etc.).
SUMMARY
Julia Papp
THE BEGINNINGS OF INSTITUTIONAL ARTWORK
PHOTOGRAPHY IN HUNGARY (1859-1885)
In the fifth section of the first congress of art history, orga-
nized in Vienna in 1873, titled Reproductionen von Kunst-
werken und deren Verbreitung im Interesse der Museen und
des Kunstunterrichtes, the participants discussed the ma-
king and distribution of artwork reproductions and their
use for museums and educational purposes. The topic was
very relevant at the time, since in the 19th c. in Europe the
making of galvanoplastic and plaster cast reproductions
reached almost industrial proportions. In the second half
of the 19th c. the photography of artworks also started to
flourish. In Western Europe in the 1850s began the photo-
graphy of architectural monuments and the most valuable
treasures of major museums and collections. In Hungary,
the use of artwork photographs by institutions began in
the 1860s by the committee for historic preservation of
the Hungarian Academy of Sciences: one of their tasks
was to search for artistic monuments and collect descrip-
tions, drawings and photographs of them. Most of the do-
cuments, including the photographs, were given to the
committee by enthusiastic patriots of the countryside. In
the 1870s, the most valuable treasures of museums, lib-
raries and church collections also began to be requested
to be photographed, now by professional photographers.
These photographers, often competing with each other,
also created the photography series - which sometimes
included hundreds of pictures - which recorded the histo-
ric exhibitions organized in the 1870s and 1880s (the 1873
Vienna Worlds Fair, a book exhibition in 1882, an exhibi-
tion of metal artworks in 1884 etc.).