Exhibition | 19th century seen by Józef Czechowicz - Cities of Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine

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Free visit, working days, from 10 to 17 h 30, upon presentation of an identity document. 7, place de Fontenoy Paris 7th
Contact: rsvp.unesco@mfa.lt
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Józef Czechowicz was born on March 14, 1818 not far from Polock in Vitebsk governorate. He died on January 13, 1888 in Vilnius.
Czechowicz became engaged into the photographic activity around 1853, at the age of 35, at the time when wet collodion photography process started to gain ground. His interest in photography led him to Paris in 1856, where he got acquainted with the newest developments of photography. After Paris he practised photography in Kyiv and Chernigiv, was among the earliest photographers of Kyiv. Before settling permanently in Vilnius in 1865, he had stayed for three years in Vitebsk.
Czechowicz developed a highly personal photographic style. His photographs were awarded at the exhibitions in Russia and France. He became a member of La Société française de photographie in 1876.
The Czechowicz’s photographic legacy is a part of the cultural heritage of several nations in the region. Although he spent most of his time photographing Vilnius and its environs, there are landscape photographs of Kaunas, Grodno, Lublin and other places in his portfolio as well. Photographs by Czechowicz can be found in the holdings of memory institutions in Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Russia, France, Germany, Vatican City and in many private collections in Europe.
Czechowicz raised the quality of the Lithuanian photography to the European level and made a major contribution in the development of Lithuanian and Polish photography.