János Reismann

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János Reismann (* 1905 in Hungary , † 1976 in Hungary) was a Hungarian photographer and journalist. He worked for various magazines, especially in France, the Soviet Union and Hungary, and is the author of several photo books.

Life

Reismann came from a Jewish family. His father was Adolf Reismann, director of the midwifery school in Szombathely and his sister was Marian Reismann, also known as a photographer.

János Reismann was not admitted to the university due to a numerus clausus and got an apprenticeship at Lombard Bank, later at Continental Vaskereskedelmi Rt. (Continental Hardware Inc.) in Pest. In May 1925 he traveled to Paris to enroll at the Sorbonne University , but instead became an assistant to the American photographer Peter Powel and spent his time in the artist cafes of Montparnasse. In March 1927 he accepted an invitation from the photographer Schneider and moved to Berlin. In 1928 he completed the camera course at the State College for Photo Technology in Berlin.

From 1929 he worked in Berlin for the Arbeiter Illustrierte Zeitung (AIZ) together with John Heartfield , Erwin Piscator and Umbo (Otto Umbehr). Besides P. Urban and Hans Franke he was a member of the short-lived advertising collective "UFRA". In Berlin he also met the German costume designer Sylta Busse , both of whom soon married. In 1931 Heartfield organized an exhibition of his work in Moscow, whereupon Reismann also went to Moscow and stayed there as long as he could. He spent seven years as a photo reporter in the Soviet Union. He was employed by SSR Na Strojke, Sojusfoto and Ogonyok, but from 1932 mainly supplied the AIZ with pictures. In February 1938, his residence permit was not extended. This refusal and subsequent departure very likely saved his life, while many of his colleagues fell victim to the Stalinist purges.

He went back to Paris and stayed there until 1945. Reismann worked for Regards, living off odd jobs like retouching and technical services, for which he used the laboratories of his friends Brassaï and Robert Capa . From autumn 1942 he published the party underground magazine "d'Information". In 1945 he returned to Hungary with the first party group via Italy and Yugoslavia. Here he produced reports for the picture section of Szabad Ember (Free People), from October 1945 he worked for the magazine Zukunft, which sent him to Paris as a reporter in December. In January 1948 he stayed as a photographer at the press office of the Hungarian embassy. In May 1949 he became head of the press office and cultural attaché of the embassy. He then exhibited, together with Robert Capa and David Seymour , at the Casa della Cultura in Rome.

His career had hardly begun for the second time when he was arrested in connection with the Rajk trial in September 1949 and sentenced to life imprisonment on trumped-up charges. After five years, in August 1954, Reismann was rehabilitated; but excluded from the party a month later because they could no longer be sure of his loyalty. Between 1954 and 1956 he worked for the magazine "Peace and Freedom", in December 1956 he switched to the "Interesting Journal". He photographed and edited several photo books and illustrated books for Hungarian and German publishers, mainly about countries in the Mediterranean region (e.g. Italy, Sardinia). In 1960 he returned to his homeland and continued to work for various illustrated magazines. He died in 1976.

Solo and group exhibitions (selection)

  • (Title unknown) , Moscow 1931.
  • (Title unknown) , Casa della Cultura, Rome 1949.

Publications (selection)

  • People on the street. Forty-two Variations on a Simple Theme. With 32 pictures. Engelhorn Stuttgart 1931. (Reismann et al.)
  • Images de Russie. (Text by Pierre Courtade) Éditions du Chéne Paris 1947.
  • Népi kollégisták. (Text by Mágori Erzsébet) Cserépfalvi Budapest 1948.
  • Jeunesse sans uniform. La vie dans les Collèges Populaires de Hongrie (text by Mágori Erzsébet). Éditions Nagel Paris 1949.
  • Budapest. The Hungarian capital in pictures. Corvina Budapest 1956.
  • Italy. Everything has been, everything is present (text by Carlo Levi). Belser Stuttgart 1959 (also: Einaudi Milano and Viking Press New York 1960).
  • The Balaton. Words from Gyula Illyes. Corvina Budapest 1962.
  • A Balti-tengertől a Bajkál-tóig . (with Pethö Tibor) Kossuth Budapest 1964.
  • All honey is running out. (Text Carlo Levi) Diary from Sardinia. With photos by János Reismann. DuMont Cologne 1965

(also: Fretz & Wasmuth Zurich 1965).

  • Savaria and surroundings. Corvina Budapest 1968.
  • Reismann János munkássága. (Text Brassai) Corvina Budapest 1970.
  • Budapest variations. (Text Istvan Csurka) Corvina Budapest 1971.
  • Bakony. (Text by István Simon) Corvina Budapest 1973.
  • Nyugtalan Évek [Restless Years]. (Texts Brassai, Reismann, Majthényi Zoltán and others) Corvina Budapest 1982.
  • Köznapok / Weekdays / Quotidiens / everyday life. Városháza Budapest 2004.
  • A két Reismann (with Marian Reismann; Text Károly Kincses) Magyar Fotográfiai Múzeum Kecskemét 2004.
  • Modern Magyar Fotográfia VII - Modern Hungarian Photography. (Reismann et al.) Vintage Budapest 2008.
  • János Reismann 1959. Un fotografo ungherese in Sardegna. Imago Multimedia 2010.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Reismann, János
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hungarian photographer and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Hungary
DATE OF DEATH 1976
Place of death Hungary