Polish impressions and longing for distant places

With more than 100,000 negatives, slides, and positives, the Stefan Arczyński collection is one of the largest in the Herder Institute's image archive. On August 28, 2022, the renowned German-Polish photographer passed away at the age of 106. In his memory, the Herder Institute is presenting the exhibition “100 Years – 100 Pictures: Stefan Arczyński,” which was conceived in 2016 and supplemented in 2021 with photographs from his travels abroad, thus also showing the “other” Arczyński.

The first thematic group, “Poland – criss-cross,” illustrates the breadth of his photographic interests. “Wrocław – adopted home and cultural metropolis” follows with a variety of images from Arczyński's adopted hometown. The third series of images, “Poland – diverse and colorful,” adds a colorful accent with color photographs. Finally, the section “Warsaw – Resurgence of the Capital” offers characteristic motifs relating to the Polish capital. These 100 photographs are followed by the group “Wanderlust,” featuring selected motifs from around the world that showcase Arczyński's outstanding qualities as an art photographer. His passionate interest was in natural and man-made forms and structures (roofs, trees, landscapes), urban life (“Street Life”) and, last but not least, people themselves: during his many travels through Europe, the USA, Asia and Africa, he took impressive portrait photographs.

Stefan Arczyński was born in 1916 as the son of a Polish emigrant and active member of the Polish League in Essen. From 1934, he trained as a photographer there and was drafted into the Luftwaffe as a photo technician in 1938. During World War II, he took part in various campaigns, including in France and the Soviet Union. He was temporarily imprisoned on suspicion of sympathizing with Poland. His father was convicted and murdered by the Nazis in 1940 for the same reasons. Arczyński's brother fought as an officer on the Polish side, first in Poland in 1939, then in Italy. Stefan Arczyński was taken prisoner by the Soviets in Latvia in May 1945.
Thanks to his former membership in the Polish League, he came to Poland in 1946, where he first opened a photo studio in Kamienna Góra/Landeshut and then, in 1950, in Wrocław/Breslau. Over the next few decades, Arczyński worked as a freelance art photographer for numerous publishers and press outlets, documenting art and architectural monuments, cultural life in Lower Silesia and Poland, and taking photographs on his travels around the world. From 1956 onwards, he presented his works of art in numerous exhibitions and received several awards for his work.

Stefan Arczyński's photographs reflect the contemporary history of the 20th century. Impressions from Germany and Poland in particular shaped the photographer's life and work. Early photographs show the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, followed by war photographs, photo documentaries of war damage in Breslau and other Polish cities, and their subsequent reconstruction. Arczyński also captured cultural life in post-war Poland. During numerous trips abroad, he photographed motifs that reflect the spirit of their time. However, his works are far removed from any ideology. Rather, they reveal the photographer's special interest in people and their lives. This is expressed in his numerous portraits and snapshots of city life. Many of the pictures also testify to his enthusiasm for the performing and visual arts, such as theater and ballet performances, painting, sculpture, and above all architecture. Last but not least, they bear witness to the photographer's fascination with nature, its power and dynamism, which finds expression in landscape motifs. His perfect mastery of black-and-white photography enabled him to sculpturally model the objects and scenes he photographed.

Stefan Arczyński's pictures reveal to the viewer the artist's aesthetic sensibility, which determined both his choice of motifs and his perspective and composition.