Before Facebook: photographic tableaux as a tool for building identity in the 19th century

Since the 1860s, composed photographic groups, also called tableaux, enjoyed great popularity. The daily press eagerly recorded every instance of preparing such a composition — whether to mark a school graduation, an anniversary, or to commemorate some important event. These compositions consisted of a vignette, often prepared by one of the young Polish artists and frequently of rather elaborate, witty content, into which portrait photographs of people associated with the event were inserted. Tableaux were thus a pleasant keepsake, while at the same time they played another important role: they were visual proof of belonging to a particular professional or social group and a tool for building the identity of the modernizing society emerging at that time. In many respects they can therefore be compared to today’s Facebook.

During the meeting, Dr. Marta Ziętkiewicz will talk about the most interesting tableaux created in Polish photographic studios, their origins and functions, and will also explain why the objects from the „Czechy” Glassworks, which in 2025 entered the MuFo collections, are so special and valuable.

Host:
Dr. Marta Ziętkiewicz – an art historian. She works at the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences, where she runs postgraduate studies “Photography: History, Art, Practices”. She specializes in research on photography, primarily in its social and political dimensions; she is also interested in issues related to medium theory. Her articles have appeared in Polish publications (e.g.: “Dagerotyp”, “Konteksty”, “Pamiętnik Teatralny”) and international journals (“Photography and Culture”, “IMAGES: A Journal of Jewish Art and Visual Culture”). She is the originator and organizer of the international conference series “Discovering Peripheries: Histories of Photography in Central‑Eastern Europe”. She collaborates with the Photographic History Research Centre at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK. In 2024 her book “In the Service of Modernity. The History of Photography in Warsaw 1864–1883” was published.

Important information:

• Meeting for adults
• Place: MuFo Rakowicka, ul. Rakowicka 22A
• Price: 5 PLN
• Duration: 1.5 hrs
• Number of participants: up to 30 people
• Reservations through the online booking system: https://bilety.mufo.krakow.pl
• Email reservation: bilety@mufo.krakow.pl
• Telephone reservation: tel. 12 395 7042 ext. 1226 (possible from Tuesday to Sunday during Museum opening hours)

The event is part of the accompanying programme to the show “Na pamiątkę… Tableaux fotograficzne Konrada Brandla i Jadwigi Golcz”.