Zofia RYDET (1911-1997)

Presence, 1987, Cracow from the Sociological Record series

1987
gelatin silver print, 18.1 x 23.3 cm,
artist’s stamp on the reverse
vintage

This photograph was taken during the 1987 Pastoral Visit of Pope John Paul II to Poland, which Rydet was documenting with her camera. In the course of her work, she made a series of photographs showing decorated buildings, windows, and shop windows. This photograph is one of them. The image of the Pope is an important motif, recurring in many of her works, especially in the Sociological Record. Rydet’s photographs with the likeness of John Paul II as a house or flat decoration form a separate sub-series entitled Presence, which was published as an album (Calvarianum, 1988).