This books deals with the activity, role and importance of a Hungarian photographer-group, called „painter-photographers”. It played an important role during the first forty years of photography-history. During the first decades of photography it was an advantage to have a good grounding in painting in order to create first-class pieces of art, to achieve a considerable, successful career and to establish a photo-studio. This company of painters was the most interested in creating painting-like photos. They had strong desire to establish art-photography. Their academy-level knowledge in painting and creating-talent were together used for developing this new kind of art led by new technology. Their aim was to use their cameras the same way as stones are used in lithography. Painting-like photos were in line with general expectations: they could perfectly smooth to different kinds of painting styles and fashion. Painter photographers wished to raise photography from the level of applied science to the level of art, or at least the to the same level like prints and lithography.
The story of painter-photographers is a short and special volume from photography-history. Examining the first 20 years we were concentrating on basic problems. The flourishing of painter-photographers’ activity was between 1860 and 1880. Most famous, master degree artist painters like for example József Boros and Miklós Barabás opened their photo-studios and started to earn money with it. Lots of others (we had data about almost 60 artists) also tried to establish their own studios. Many of them cooperated with a master-photographer and ran their business together. Some artists started to use photos as models for their paintings, for example Mihály Munkácsy took photos in advance that were set up for some part of his masterpieces.
Presenting the 1840s, I was examining different evaluation-forms of photography that reflects truly contemporary artists’ opinion. We can follow the acceptance process of photos and daguerreotypes, as the very first news about the born of the new technique stirred up a deep emotional storm. Admiring and devotion on one hand, while fear and trembling on the other. Wild anger because of appearance of rivals, and recognition because of exploring a new piece of reality.
In the 1840s aesthetical evaluation of photos had two main streams. Imre Henszelmann was the leader of the group that was against it and he was expressing their common, basic thoughts. His ideas were published in press and soon became popular. They could be followed in newspaper critics. The other group was for the new technology and included wide range of people, from archaeologists to engineers. They soon got to know how information derived from photos could be used in their science. Most prominent member of painter-photographers was Jakab Marastoni. From his works I was concentrating on his daguerreotypes.
Paper based photos appeared at the 1850s and simplified the practice of photography. With this achievement more and more photographers opened their own studios. The role of painter-photographers increased, their activity was important and was also a guideline for other photographers. Devotion for photography among some of our painters was determined, for example Imre Roth from Kassa, Antal Simony from Pest and Károly Szatmári Pap from Cluj Napoca (Kolozsvár). Their painting studies were in line with their experimental mood, which guaranteed a successful photography career. Examining their lifeworks we can follow how a painter became a photographer (Simonyi) and how it was possible to work as a painter and photographer at the same time (Szathmári Pap).
The year of 1855 was an important dividing line as the Expo in Paris brought general triumph for paper-based photography. Long articles were dealing with this new technical invention in Hungarian press. Antal Simonyi was writing essays about his remarks, opinion about the role of photography in the future. His essays were published in a book, readings were organised at the Academy of Science, which helped in the raise and general acknowledgment of artistic photography.
Two chapters dealing with the period between 1860 and 1880 are summarizing activity of the second-generation fine-artists having close connections to photography. Approximately 60 artists got acquainted with photography. We can find a flourishing, prosperous, famous studios as well as ambiguous connections. We had very limited sources about artists from Transylvania and Highlands. Finally 44 biographies can summarize this big amount of information.
Most of the painter-photographers were born around 1820. Their lives, studies and career were influenced by the War of Independence in 1848-1849. Some of them had to escape and start new life. They tried several ways of survival strategies during the 1850s. Despotic system forced them to be flexible and do any kind of work occurred. His life-work also included doing works that were at the edge of traditional fine-art, like painting trade-signs and flags. Tutoring drawing was a good base for living for those that had average artist-education.

Photography was easy to learn so it showed a good alternative for these artists around 1860. Painters were somehow forced by economic reasons to turn towards photography but at the same time they got a chance to try their organising and initiative talent in this new craft. The question was whether they were able to organise every-day life of a studio. They were led by their week-day-desire: painter-photographers wished to achieve stable financial background in a way that the atelier-studio could run successfully with its director’s operative leadership while they could withdraw in their muses’ world. It was a strategic point that the master must have had a settled view about the relations between master and artist, paintings and photos, not to talk about his own role. Without having this clear picture either his business got bankrupt or he let it run by somebody else. Their paintings strictly followed the academy rules, but their photos – due to the technical development - showed thousands of small details of their age. As a photographer became a master his relation to his photos changed, too. Their business-operation urged them to become more effective, therefore they started to use more and more machines in their studios. Doing this kind of mechanical daily work only a few photographers, that had strong artistic talent, could produce nice photos with enthusiasm at an artistic level. Colouring and other tricks of painting-like photos remained expensive and special feature of the richest studios.
Around 1880, this special generation, that had to face their ambiguous fate but still could remain insistent and flexible, died out. Activity of the remained ones on one hand got specialized, as there was a raising demand for creating paintings again. Later only very few painters ran their photo-studios. From this point on, studio-photographers with painting education were not any longer the link between paintings and photography. Their role was taken over by artists studying or tutoring at Fine-Art Academy in Munich. They started to use photos as a direct source.