Władysław Strzemiński. Theory in the Archive

“Our seeing has not been given to us ready-made and unchanging (…). But seeing is not just the passive reception of visual sensations. We analyse the received sensations, confront them with corresponding fragments of reality, make sense of the emergent interrelations and causes (…) Thinking poses questions for seeing to answer. Seeing accumulates a stock of observational material.”

With these words, Władysław Strzemiński began his Theory of Seeing. In this work, he described the laws governing the processes of creating and perceiving works of art in different eras, starting from biological and physical conditions (the structure and functioning of the eye) and ending with cultural ones. He demonstrated how the perception of an artwork is shaped by “visual awareness” —the sum of visual experiences attainable at a given moment in time.

Roman Modzelewski, referring to conversations with his professor, claimed that this “book, written in haste, was meant to serve as a direct argument proving the absurdity of socialist realist slogans. It was addressed primarily to Minister Sokorski and other architects of the cultural policy of the time.”

The Theory was developed between 1950 and 1952; however, the issues it addressed had already appeared in articles written by the artist before the war.

Strzemiński’s work (and the artist himself) were destined to be “consigned to the scrapheap of history.” This seemingly innocent treatise became an illegal and dangerous book, as it challenged the existing political order — one that held its own unquestionable view on matters of art.  

Students secretly retyped copies of the work on a typewriter stolen from the art school and circulated them clandestinely, knowing that if discovered, such actions would almost certainly lead to repressions—even imprisonment.

The Theory found its way, among other places, to the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków and to its Department of Propaganda Graphics in Katowice. It was read by Andrzej Wróblewski and Andrzej Wajda; Konrad Swinarski brought it to Katowice, which led to the formation of the avant-garde group ST-53, whose early exhibitions were held exclusively in private apartments. (ST referred to Strzemiński’s name and to the then-official name of the city, Stalinogród, while 53 referred to the year the group was founded.)

When writing Theory of Seeing, the artist was at the end of his life—ill, unemployed, and considered useless.

Strzemiński and his wife, Katarzyna Kobro, were rehabilitated as artists after Stalin’s death. Thanks to the efforts of former students and friends, a grand exhibition titled Kobro, Strzemiński was organized at the Art Propaganda Center in Łódź in 1956.

Theory of Seeing was published in 1958 by Wydawnictwo Literackie in Kraków. The publication was made possible through the efforts of Julian Przyboś (preface), Stanisław Fijałkowski (editing), Jerzy Mackiewicz (photography), Lech Kunka (cover), and Stefan Wegner, who designed the graphic layout.

The typescript of Theory of Seeing, consisting of 200 pages and nearly a hundred illustrations mounted on cardboard, was purchased by the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź in 1978.

The manuscript—122 pages—was bequeathed to the museum by the artist’s daughter, Nika Strzemińska, in 2001.

Maciej Cholewiński

The presentation of archival materials is available daily (mezzanine above the library in ms¹), except Mondays and weekends, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.