IMAGO ARTIS

The Krakow Art Historians' Group Cooperative "IMAGO ARTIS" was registered on January 24, 1947 on the initiative of Wilhelm Gall and a group of art historians and artists associated with the National Museum and the School of Fine Arts in Krakow. Initially, it was to produce souvenirs inspired by works of art, and to promote art associated with Krakow. The plan was to produce copies of tiles from the Wawel Castle, miniature plaster heads from the Wit Stwosz altar, dolls in regional costumes, pictures on glass, fabrics, and metalwork.

fot. Monika Gruszka, Imago Artis Jewelry 1947-1963 - private archive

The name "Imago Artis" translates as "art image" or "mirror of art". Its marks, the letter IA in the associated monogram (a reference to the monogram of Albrecht Durer), colloquially comes from collectors, is considered an easel due to its graphic nature. Organizational and production difficulties, material and local brakes, problems with the distribution of failures, that the unit merged with the specter of liquidation already in the early 1950s. Michał Myśliński creates a very interesting genesis of the creation and difficult beginnings in the publication "Broken Mirror. Jewelry and galanteria of the Artistic Industry Cooperative "Imago Artis" "in the memories of Elżbieta Mathias and Janina Rogalska.

Meanwhile, on the wave of the government's tightening fiscal policy towards the private sector during the so-called "trade war", the forced nationalization of craft workshops, for many of them, the only chance for survival was to join existing cooperatives by transferring workshops, projects and educated staff. In this way, the resources of Imago Artis, as well as other Polish cooperatives, included tools, machines, premises, a group of experienced employees: goldsmiths, engravers, bronze workers, and their design archives.

During these transformations, which also entailed modifications in terms of specialization and the main direction of production, art historians left the cooperative. This also entailed a change of name to "Imago Artis" Artistic and Folk Handicraft Cooperative. Supervision over the cooperative is taken over by CEPELIA, established in 1949, and in 1951 cooperation with the Jewellery Centrala begins. Although this imposes on the cooperatives the obligation to present designs for approval, it also provides benefits in the form of silver allocations and access to distribution channels.

In 1954, Stanisław Chojnacki, a graphic artist and engraver by education, who had worked at Imago Artis since 1949 as a jewelry and haberdashery maker, became the chief designer and artistic director. Under his guidance, jewelry production became the main direction of activity.

fot. Monika Gruszka ,Imago Artis Jewelry 1947-1963 - private archive

fot. Monika Gruszka, Imago Artis - private archive

The art of the early 1950s, according to the then prevailing ideas, was to be "national in form, socialist in content". Artists also sought a "Polish style" in jewellery, which led, in the case of Imago Artis, to references to Podhale folklore or the so-called Kraków and Bronowice jewellery. These references were particularly visible at the beginning of its activity. The cooperative offers its customers not only jewellery or corpus vessels but also decorative objects purchased from artists and craftsmen.

fot. Monika Gruszka, Imago Artis Jewelry - private archive

The element that undoubtedly distinguishes Imago Artis from other entities on the goldsmith market of that period in Poland is the use of the filigree technique. This technique is one of the oldest decorative techniques. It was particularly popular in Italy during the Renaissance. In Poland, in the 17th and 18th centuries, filigree buttons were used in the male attire of the nobility and wealthy bourgeoisie. From the end of the 18th century to the late 1970s, filigree decorations were popular in Cieszyn folk costumes, religious objects, e.g. in balsamines made by Jewish goldsmiths, and haberdashery or trinkets. Of no small importance for the cooperative struggling with problems with the availability of silver was the fact that this technique requires smaller amounts of the metal when making objects of the same size than other techniques, but its downside was its laboriousness.

Preparing huge amounts of filigree wire was quite a challenge for the cooperative. In 1952, Józef Bigaj, a goldsmith and employee of Imago Artis, developed a device (called a "trajkotka" by his coworkers) that improved the process. By pulling silver wire through this device, steel toothed wheels create cuts on its edges, thus imitating "real filigree". Józef Bigaj's invention is called Polish filigree, Krakow filigree or "milgriff".

fot. Monika Gruszka, Imago Artis Jewelry (filigree) - private archive

fot. Monika Gruszka, Imago Artis Jewelry (milgriff, pigras) - private archive

Pigras is a decorative element consisting of a ball surrounded by bent wires, resembling a flower.

The design of jewellery from the beginning of the cooperative's activity is largely inspired by the so-called Bronowice jewellery. These are silver rings, pendants, brooches mainly decorated with coral. Some of the designs were taken from the workshops of Krakow goldsmiths, e.g. you can find copies of the same design with the punches of the Krakow goldsmith Władysław Rogalski, whose workshop was incorporated into Imago Artis, as well as with the namesake of the cooperative. One of the first projects for the cooperative was prepared by his daughter, Janina Rogalska. On the other hand, cameos in silver filigree settings were created by Stanisław Chojnacki. This was one of the few examples when ivory was used in Imago Artis produ

The brooch with the Imago Artis stamp, in the photo at the top, comes from the exhibition "From Idea to Industry" Jewellery from the collection of Maria Magdalena Kwiatkiewicz, curated by Michał Myśliński. The brooch in the photo at the bottom with the WLR stamp, Władładysław Rogalski

fot. Monika Gruszka, Imago Artis Jewelry 1947-1963 - private archive

The 1960s saw a clear shift towards filigree, the most characteristic technique for the cooperative. Corals were used for decoration, which were obtained from a collection point. Unfortunately, this was a situation that did not guarantee continuity of supply. That is why so-called "pearls" appeared, i.e. cabochons modeled from silver sheet, replacing "eyes". Ornamental stones (agates, jaspers, quartzes) also appeared quite early, to which Imago, as a cooperative associated with Cepelia, had easier access.

fot. Monika Gruszka, Imago Artis Jewelry - private archive

fot. Monika Gruszka, Imago Artis Jewelry - private archive

In the 70s (Gierek's era), as society became more affluent, there was an increased demand for goods considered more luxurious, such as jewelry. The most famous and recognizable Imago Artis jewelry from this period were spatial, silver, filigree brooches composed in the form of multi-arm rosettes, resembling stars, snowflakes, flowers, large rings, bracelets made of filigree. The construction of the Northern Port in Gdańsk resulted in the discovery of large deposits of amber, which, through the Bursztyny cooperative, reached Imago Artis in the form of amber semi-finished products. Thanks to this, jewelry from this period is largely decorated with amber cabochons.

fot. Monika Gruszka, Imago Artis Jewelry 1947-1963 - private archive

fot. Monika Gruszka, Imago Artis Jewelry 1947-1963 - private archive

In 1975 Stanisław Chojnacki died, who had shaped the style of the Imago Artis cooperative for over 20 years. Around this time, i.e. in the mid-1970s, cooperation was established with a group of new generation artists who significantly influenced the change in the nature of production, responding to the needs of recipients and new trends. The group of collaborators was then joined by Lucyna Hubert-Nieniewska, Marek Nałęcz-Nieniewski, Jan Nuckowski, Janusz Bożek, Franciszek Folfas, Stanisław Mrówka and in 1978 Marek Ganew. Their designs were more often characterized by asymmetry, a concentration of openwork compositions and a decided flatness broken by convex amber and coral.

fot. Monika Gruszka, Imago Artis Jewelry - private archive

fot. Monika Gruszka, Imago Artis Jewelry - private archive

fot. Monika Gruszka ,Imago Artis Jewelry- private archive

In the early 1980s, Imago's style slowly moved away from filigree and back to more massive jewellery, but no longer inspired by folk motifs. Amber also ceased to be as popular with customers as in previous years. Zircons were used more often for decoration.

In 1983, Imago Artis obtained the rights to produce gold jewellery, and with them the state allocation of this raw material. Designs in gold were designed until 1995. Before 1983, gold jewellery was made only from the ore entrusted by customers. Synthetic corundum, produced in Skawina since the 1960s, was used to decorate gold (less often silver) products, especially rings.

Photo from the publication:

Cepelia: Krakowskie srebrny i złota. Imago Artis

The turn of the 80s and 90s was a time of turbulent political, social and economic changes in Poland. Unfortunately, this had a negative impact on the development of Polish jewellery design. The introduction of a market economy, supply problems, reduced demand for more expensive handmade jewellery, and a massive flood of cheaper imported, so-called fashion jewellery, caused the cooperatives to find themselves in financial trouble, had problems with sales, and were eventually liquidated. The Imago Artis cooperative also shared this fate, being dissolved in 1998.

Bibliografia:

Michał Myśliński: Rozbite zwierciadło: biżuteria i galanteria Spółdzielni Przemysłu Artystycznego "IMAGO ARTIS"

Irena Huml: Ars argenti. Imago Artis- krakowskie zwierciadło sztuki.

Irena Huml: Granice srebrnych przestrzeni. Polska biżuteria II połowy XX wieku

Cepelia: Krakowskie srebro i złoto. Imago Artis