Nostalgia shows us Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii and the Russia of Nicholas II through the eyes of a wealthy amateur photographer. Thanks to him, readers will be able to discover the Russian Empire under the reign of its last tsar. This is an exceptional journey, fascinating not only for the modernity of its color photographs, but also for the images themselves, which take us back in time.
In her introduction, Estelle Blaschke tells the life story of Sergei Mikhailovich. Born in 1863 to a noble Saint Petersburg family, he studied chemistry before becoming interested in photography after a trip to Western Europe. Upon his return, he began experimenting with the medium and even founded a magazine: Fotograf-Liubtel (“Amateur Photographer”). It was around 1904 that he came up with the idea to make an inventory of the most important people, landscapes and monuments in Russia. His family helped finance the project, which won Mikhailovich the tsar’s approval when it was projected for the court. The objective was to promote the glory and culture of the Russian Empire. He received even more financial support, including aid from the transport minister, which allowed him to travel freely throughout the country.
The result is a genuine epic of which we are only given partial view: the Gorskii archive contains no less than 6,000 glass plates. These treasures were donated by his son to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., in 1948. The restoration and digitization of these works has made Prokudin-Gorskii prime for rediscovery.
Sophie Hedtmann
Nostalgia
The Russian Empire of Czar Nicholas IIThe Russia of Czar Nicholas II in laboriously restored historical color photographs by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii
ISBN: 978-3-89955-439-7
€58.00 / $88.00 / £55.00
