obrazów

Obrazów is the genitive plural form of the Polish noun obraz, which means picture, painting, or image. The word is used to refer to a wide range of visual representations, from traditional painted works to digital images. In everyday language, obrazów appears in phrases such as brak obrazów (a lack of images) and katalog obrazów (a catalog of images).

In Polish grammar, obraz is a masculine noun. Its singular forms include obraz (nominative), obrazu (genitive), obrazowi (dative), obraz (accusative for inanimate masculine nouns), and obrazem (instrumental). The plural forms are obrazy (nominative and accusative), obrazów (genitive), obrazom (dative), and obrazami (instrumental). When counting, Polish typically uses 1 obraz for one item, 2–4 obrazy for a few items, and 5 and more obrazów for five or more; the exact agreement depends on the numeral.

Historically and in art contexts, obraz refers to a painting or a worked image. It is central to discussions of Polish painting, including genres such as portret (portrait), pejzaż (landscape), and martwa natura (still life). The term also appears in museum labels, art criticism, and art history, where it denotes a concrete work rather than a photograph.

In contemporary usage, obraz also denotes a digital image. In computing and media, phrases like obraz cyfrowy, obraz rastrowy, and obraz wektorowy describe digital pictures and formats. Distinctions are often made with synonyms such as grafika (graphics) and fotografie (photography), but obraz remains a general term for any visual representation, regardless of medium.

Etymologically, obraz is a native Slavic word with cognates in other Slavic languages, reflecting a long-standing concept of a visual likeness or representation.