DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45642#0189
Czy dziewiętnastowieczne fotografie są wiarygodnym źródłem do odczytywania treści obrazów...
185
Anna Masłowska
Are 19th-century photographs a reliable source for reading
the content of Henryk Siemiradzki^ paintings?
The reproduction of works of art - of the photographic genre - had a great influence not only on the
development of photography in the 19ch century, but also significantly influenced the sphere of artistic
life. The production of copies of works of art was one of the most important areas of the photographic
market in the second half of the 1century. The artists themselves also quickly recognized the advantages
of the new medium. Photography, which turned out to be a great power in the popularization of contem-
porary artists’ creations, was used as a means of documenting the oeuvre and as a tool of advertising. The
photographic reproductions of paintings were an important element of Henryk Siemiradzki’s marketing
strategy. The artists works were photographed in Italy, Germany, Poland and Russia. Reproductions of
Siemiradzkis paintings were offered by the largest publishing houses of the time: Franz Hanfstaengl Kun-
stverlag from Munich and the Photographische Gesellschaft from Berlin. In Warsaw, the artists works
were photographed by Konrad Brandel. Several of them appeared in the series Album of photographs
from paintings by Polish painters, published sińce 1876 by the publishing house of H. Altenberg and M.
Robiczek.
Photography surpassed all 19th-century graphic techniques in terms of fidelity to a reproduced work
of art, but could not provide perfect copies of images, as not only did they not reproduce natural colours,
but they also misrepresented the tonal relationships. This was the result of the limited spectral sensitiv-
ity of early photographic emulsions - they were oversensitive to blue, and at the same time reacted very
poorly to red, yellow and green. This meant that the red and yellow parts of the image in the reproduction
appeared as black, green as grey, and blue as very bright, almost white. Such effects are also observed in
the photographs of Siemiradzkis paintings. Knowledge of the limitations of contemporary technology
and of the practices used by photographers and publishers to overcome photographic imperfections may
be important for researchers using this source, for example as a reference materiał for identifying missing
works or as auxiliary materials in conservation work.
185
Anna Masłowska
Are 19th-century photographs a reliable source for reading
the content of Henryk Siemiradzki^ paintings?
The reproduction of works of art - of the photographic genre - had a great influence not only on the
development of photography in the 19ch century, but also significantly influenced the sphere of artistic
life. The production of copies of works of art was one of the most important areas of the photographic
market in the second half of the 1century. The artists themselves also quickly recognized the advantages
of the new medium. Photography, which turned out to be a great power in the popularization of contem-
porary artists’ creations, was used as a means of documenting the oeuvre and as a tool of advertising. The
photographic reproductions of paintings were an important element of Henryk Siemiradzki’s marketing
strategy. The artists works were photographed in Italy, Germany, Poland and Russia. Reproductions of
Siemiradzkis paintings were offered by the largest publishing houses of the time: Franz Hanfstaengl Kun-
stverlag from Munich and the Photographische Gesellschaft from Berlin. In Warsaw, the artists works
were photographed by Konrad Brandel. Several of them appeared in the series Album of photographs
from paintings by Polish painters, published sińce 1876 by the publishing house of H. Altenberg and M.
Robiczek.
Photography surpassed all 19th-century graphic techniques in terms of fidelity to a reproduced work
of art, but could not provide perfect copies of images, as not only did they not reproduce natural colours,
but they also misrepresented the tonal relationships. This was the result of the limited spectral sensitiv-
ity of early photographic emulsions - they were oversensitive to blue, and at the same time reacted very
poorly to red, yellow and green. This meant that the red and yellow parts of the image in the reproduction
appeared as black, green as grey, and blue as very bright, almost white. Such effects are also observed in
the photographs of Siemiradzkis paintings. Knowledge of the limitations of contemporary technology
and of the practices used by photographers and publishers to overcome photographic imperfections may
be important for researchers using this source, for example as a reference materiał for identifying missing
works or as auxiliary materials in conservation work.