In a conservatory
Early 20th Century Russian artist Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii’s color-drenched photographs of his homeland are not only stunningly beautiful and electrically enduring, they are pioneering works of art on several levels. Prokudin-Gorskii tirelessly captured corners of then-Czar Nicholas II’s Empire that had never been documented before. Traveling in a railroad car-turned-darkroom sponsored by the Czar, the artist developed and championed methods of dynamic, vibrant image-making that were truly avant garde for the time.
New York-based, internationally-recognized critic, curator, writer, educator and art authority Lyle Rexer wrote of Prokudin-Gorskii’s process for our debut editions by the artist—Stog siena (Haystack) and Siren (Lilacs)—that “Where many photographers of the time might have created hand-colored lantern slides on glass (for public presentations), Prokudin-Gorskii shot his glass plate negatives in triplicate, with three color filters. When projected all at once in overlay through corresponding filters, the images appeared in vibrant color. Printing was a more complicated issue, and few prints were actually made. It’s likely the photographer built his own camera in order to make simultaneous exposures. He also made prints in sepia tone, an equally emphatic aesthetic gesture.”
Two additional works by Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii that we’re thrilled to edition in partnership with the Library of Congress, In a conservatory and Roses, were both shot and developed c.1905-1915 by the artist during the thick of his aforementioned photographic survey. Prokudin-Gorskii was not just a visionary documentarian, but a scientist—which is no surprise, given his creative drive to experiment with processes, composition, subject matter and, of course, color.
