Veszprémi Nóra - Szücs György szerk.: Borsos József festő és fotográfus (1821–1883) (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2009/4)

BORSOS JÓZSEF, A FÉNYKÉPÉSZ / JÓZSEF BORSOS THE PHOTOGRAPHER - Zsuzsa FARKAS: A Few Words on József Borsos'Photography

ZSUZSA FARKAS r ew Words on József Borsos' Photography József Borsos' lifework is divided into two parts: he left behind an impressive oeuvre both as a painter and as a photographer. At the end of the 19th century it was by no means uncommon that a painter also doubled as a photographer. Many of them, like Borsos, became converted for life. Painter-photographers, who formed a loose fellowship of some sort, were the ones who showed the greatest affinity for photographs composed as paintings.They had a strong desire to lay the foundations of artistic photography by utilizing their academic training as painters as well as their compositional talents. Parallel with the growing prosperity of the middle classes, photographic studios in the capital cities of European studios were becoming increasingly important places. To a large measure, their commercial success depended on their actual location within the city. In the early 1860s, the number of photographic studios went from ten to sixty in Pest.The prospective proprietors had the option of either building from scratch or converting existing buildings. The photographic shops erected in courtyards and back gardens, the popular "glass salons" of the period, were temporary constructions, mere pavilions. With the help of curtains and shades, it was possible to create overhead, frontal or sideways lighting in the central glass hall of the studios. The University's old botanical garden, the location where Borsos eventually set up his photographic studio, was mainly used for recreational purposes between 1860 and 1870; grossly neglected, it had been guietly awaiting what fate had in store for it since 1850. Until the start of the construction work for the University, it was leased to the photographic company of József Borsos and Albert Doctor. On the basis of the botanical garden's ground plan, it is possible to reconstruct the location, the size and the entrance of the studio. In the early days the studio was built adjacent to the walled fence along the main road (now the Múzeum Avenue), without an entrance from outside. Later on it was continuously expanded by adding further rooms to enlarge the space. At some point, the studio received an entrance from the main road. Anna Christ's glass studio stood on the neighbouring plot, in the Beleznay garden, which opened onto Ötpacsirta Street. It was photographed during the winter of 1870, with all the curtains drawn, thus exposing its entire external structure. On the basis of this photograph, we can form some idea as to how Borsos' studio must have looked like, which represented a very popular design (roof tiles made of baked clay, sidewalls made of glass). Photographic studios of this type were steaming hot during the summer and freezing cold during the winter. Elevators, telephones and later on electricity were added to the amenities, and as a result of the latter, the glass walls became superfluous and were replaced by walls made of brick. Borsos continued working in this studio until 1870, when he had to vacate the premise because of the start of the construction work on the University's new building. He moved downtown and set up his business at No. 4 Deák Street. He stayed here until May 1875, when cracks appeared in the building structure and it was declared unsafe; eventually it had to be demolished. The next location was at No. 5 Kristóf Sguare, where Borsos continued to work in partnership with his son-in-law, János Varságh, until April 1877. In the last year ofthat period, the two companies were merged under the name of Borsos-Doctor-Varságh. Then Borsos and Varságh moved into Albert Doctor's studio at No.1 Erzsébet Sguare. Further information surfaced in connection with the studio in the supplement of an 1877 contract, in which Borsos sold the studio to his daughter at a nominal price. The document contains an inventory of the photographic studio. First the photographic cameras are listed, followed by eight different tables and seven chairs. Some of the objects listed show up in the photographs as studio props. After several carpets