Private Family Photography During the Last Years of the 19th Century

Abstract

In my study I examine the history of the development of the amateur photography through József Brenner’s photos and his practices. Brenner lived in Szabadka (today Subotica, Serbia), at the end of the nineteenth century. My research focuses on Brenner’s style, techniques and methods he applied in his amateur photography. The family theme he mainly used strongly influenced the development of amateur photography during the turn of the nineteenth century. József Brenner took photos of his family with his own camera, starting from April 22nd, 1898. His child, the writer Géza Csáth (József Brenner junior) wrote about his father’s photo habits in his diary, like when he purchased his first camera and the multiple occasions when he took pictures of his family. Brenner’s images primarily show his children, important family events and his second wife, Ilona Budanovits. The collection includes pictures featuring all significant locations where his family lived at or visited, such as the cathedral of Saint Theresa of Szabadka and the garden avenue in the spa town of Palics (today Palić, Serbia), where they spent their summer vacations. Brenner not only took his photos, he also developed them himself in a darkroom set up in his home and mounted them in differently decorated passepartouts (frames). This collection is one of the first examples of private archived family photos made by a non-professional photographer in Szabadka. It presents the family members in their home environment, showing their private space and intimate world. 

Photo: Petőfi Literary Museum