Pittard's photographs bring 1921 Albania to Korça

2026-06-23 12:31:00, Qyteti im CNA

A journey through time, through photographs taken more than a century ago. An exhibition of photographs by Swiss anthropologist Eugène Pittard has opened in Korça, bringing to the public glimpses of Albanian life in 1921, a difficult period for the country, but documented with a unique scientific and artistic perspective.

Pittard's photos do not depict people posed in prepared poses, but rather moments of everyday life, creating a rare testimony to the social, cultural, and human reality of Albania at that time.

The exhibition organizer, Elton Koritari, says that it is precisely the method of documentation that makes this collection special.

"The uniqueness is the way Eugene Pittard photographed Albanian reality, because he did not pose people, he photographed them as an anthropologist, that is, as a scientist, and this turns him into an artist in a way. So we see life as it was in real life in 1921, which is a very difficult year. And beyond the fact that it is a very difficult year, the technology of the time was difficult and we know very well that mainly the photos we have from those years are studio photos. While here we bring the real, true life of Albanians of that year ," says Koritari.

Pittard and his wife, the writer Hélène Pittard, maintained a special connection to Korça. Through her memoirs, she described the city's hospitality and the cultural atmosphere that characterized it.

"Korça holds a very important place for Pittard. His wife, Hélène Pittard, who was also a writer under the pseudonym Noëlle Roger, wrote it very beautifully, she says: 'In Korça they welcomed me speaking French, singing French, and they welcomed me with flowers'. That is, even in a very small episode of a year 1921 of some foreigners, it shows itself as the city of flowers and the city that welcomes some foreigners with their language, so it takes the place of a city that is a city of culture, the capital of culture, let's say, in Albania," he adds.

Also present at the opening of the exhibition was the Swiss Ambassador to Albania, Ruth Huber, who praised Pittard's role not only in documenting Albania, but also in strengthening relations between the two countries.

“The exhibition is about photographs that were taken 100 years ago by Mr. Eugene Pittard, who is truly a historical figure in our bilateral relations between Switzerland and Albania, because he did a lot. He worked in many fields, not only taking photographs and documenting the daily lives of people 100 years ago. He also supported the independence of Albania, its membership in the League of Nations, he founded the Albanian Red Cross, so he had in many respects an important role as an ethnologist, anthropologist, archaeologist and so on ,” said Huber.

The Swiss diplomatic representative described the exhibition as an opportunity to bring attention to an important chapter of our shared history.

"For us as the Swiss Embassy, ??and for me as ambassador, it is wonderful to see this historical connection and how he, Mr. Pittard and his wife, who was also very active as a writer, how they contributed to Albania and to our bilateral relations ," the ambassador adds.

The exhibition brings not only historical photographs, but also a living testimony of an Albania that was building its identity at the beginning of the 20th century, preserving for future generations images of the people, traditions and culture of the time. /CNA