Theater photographs as a source of research on the cultural heritage of 2nd half of the 19. century

Theatre atelier photography is one of the few visual sources relating to the theatre of the second half of the nineteenth century; it is the most direct testimony, which, however, requires considerable caution in its interpretation. Science has developed a lot of methods for the study of visual sources, so an attempt – however  schematic and being just a reconnaissance in that research field – to implement them to interpret theater atelier photography seems to be justified. The author refers to methods which are the most interesting and the most relevant for the history of theater, and considers their usefulness in the analysis and interpretation of the photographic testimonies of dramatic performances.