Russkie fotografy XIX veka: fotograf-izobretatelʹ Ivan Boldyrev : [katalog vystavki 27 dekabria 2008 - 15 fevralia 2009]

Abstract

This edition of the Rossfoto series publishing photographs from various collections by the best photographers in the early history of Russian photography presents the work of Ivan Boldyrev. Fascinated by the mechanical structure and technical powers of the camera, Boldyrev was one of the first in Russia to experiment: he constantly devised improvements on the equipment of his day the 1870s and 1880s. At the same time he developed a talent for composition and lighting, as shown in these photos from an exhibition at Rossfoto (State Center of Photography Rossphoto, St. Petersburg). Boldyrevs work formed series and cycles on themes that he elaborated throughout his career: for example, the Cossack way of life, famous physicians, and St. Petersburg cultural figures. The photographs published here come from two main sources, the National Library of Russia and the Reference Library of the Russian Academy of Arts, whose collections are sufficiently rich to provide examples of work from all Boldyrev's major series and cycles. -- Summary written by John W. Emerich, Bronze Horseman Literary Agency.