EN
The purpose of this article is to consider the similarities and differences that arise during the analysis of the structure of a photographic image, using Roman Ingarden’s theory of the structure of a painting. By drawing an analytical parallel between the layers of both works, the article shows that it is possible to identify the necessary and unnecessary layers of a photographic image. It also notes that the process of taking a photograph is the reverse of the process of creating a painting: the latter progresses from (real) objects, through their appearances in the form of light reflected from them, being drawn on the base material, until they finally become visible as stains. The difference between the above types of images comes also from the fact, that photography, unlike a painting, cannot be abstract.