Edward Hartwig, transformation of the image of reality into the reality of the image

Abstract

The works of Edward Hartwig, an outstanding Polish photographer, show the confrontation of two different photographic strategies. One of them respects obligations towards the outside world and is characteristic of trends that describe reality as it is seen by the human eye. For the second strategy, the aesthetic and structural qualities of the image as such, its primacy in relation to nature and autonomy as an artistic work are important. The paper will analyze the essential features of both extremely different photographic strategies and explain the nature of their apparent contradiction. An analysis of the structural quality of the image will be used, considering the specificity of the traditional photographic technique. The most representative works from Hartwig’s rich oeuvre will be considered.