The picture plane and its transformation. Some remarks on Jerzy Wolff’s idea of a picture

Abstract

This article presents JerzyWolff’s understanding of the picture plane. For Wolff this plane is a special object which transforms its “face”: from a physical surface into an artistic and finally aesthetic space. This process of transformation and the category of metamorphosis itself are analysed in each part of the article. In the first part, which concerns the physical surface of a thing, the thesis that an artist can paint on everything is developed, thus the picture plane is any surface on which a painter applies paints. However, the fact of its distinction and acting on it causes that this surface acquires the status of an intentional object. In the second part of the article the picture plane is considered as the primed surface of a thing, especially as primed canvas, which is an artistic object with its own secondary beauty. Priming is a kind a painting which brings new qualities and causes that the picture plane has colour, dimension, space and texture. In the third part the picture plane is presented as the proper organised space of a picture which has the aesthetic qualities. The presence of this plane is a sign that a painting is a work of art.