Carol Szathmari

Carol Szathmari (Romanian: Carol Popp de Szathmari, Hungarian: Szathmáry Pap Károly; 11 January 1812, Kolozsvár – 3 July 1887, Bucharest) was a Romanian painter, lithographer, and photographer of Transylvanian Hungarian origin, who was based in Bucharest from the age of 18 until his death. He is seen as the founder of Romanian photography. He is also considered the world's first combat photographer for his pictures of the battlefield taken during the first year of the Russo-Turkish war, later known as the Crimean War.

Life

Szathmari was born in the Transylvanian city of Kolozsvár, Austrian Empire (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania), in 1812. Initially, he studied law at the Reformed College in Cluj. By the age of eighteen he had moved to Bucharest. and on returning to Bucharest he was frequently commissioned to create paintings for the Wallachian boyars. He would later go on to achieve notoriety as the official artist of the Romanian royal court. He spent most of his life in Bucharest, where he died in 1887. These connections allowed him access to the military camps of both sides at Wallachia, of the battle that would become known as the Crimean War. landscapes, fortifications and battlefields, where he photographed various troops, both Turkish and Russian, their equipment and their commanding officers. For his work presented at the exhibition, he received the second class medal.

In February 1860, he was commissioned to produce a lithograph of a map of Wallachia, based on the first detailed geographic survey of the area that had been done by Austrians during the Crimean war.

In 1863, Szathmari was given the title of Ruling Prince’s Court Painter and Photographer by the Romanian ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza and of the first King of Romania, Carol I.

In 2012, the Cotroceni National Museum in Bucharest staged a retrospective exhibition of 400 of his paintings and photographs, in celebration of the 200th anniversary of his birth.

Collections Three of Szathmari's photographs are included in the collection of the International Museum of Photography and Film at George Eastman House, in Rochester, New York: "The Russian lancer's encampment in Craiova", "The Bombardment of Silistra" and the portrait of Lt. General , commander of the 104th Russian Division, killed at the Battle of Inkerman.

The Royal Collection in London, England holds an album of photographs that Szathmari personally presented to Queen Victoria around 1855.

Also, Szathmari's work can be found in the collection of Milan Jovanović Stojimirović who bequeathed his vast collection of paintings and artifacts to the Art Department of the Museum in Smederevo.

Gallery