“Inventory of the Motherland” in Prokudin-Gorskii’s first color photographs at the Presidential Library

“…By capturing the result of artistic inspiration in the full richness of its colors on the light-sensitive photographic plate, we pass the priceless document to future generations”, – Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Goskii (1863–1944) wrote. The 155th anniversary of his birth is marked on August 30, 2018.

On the eve of the anniversary, the Presidential Library hosted a webinar "The Heritage of Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii (in commemoration of 155th anniversary of his birth) and the Bulla Dynasty". The reports of librarians were complemented by the show of photographs made by masters of photography. The report, which cast light on the life and works of Prokudin-Gorskii, listed new acquisitions, including films “Russia in Color” and “The Color of Time”. Both films entered “S. M. Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944)” extensive collection of the Presidential Library.

The pioneer of color photography in Russia, inventor, professor Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii was a member of the noble family, who had a deep understanding of his national roots as being something constant. He devoted his life to efforts "to capture and thereby immortalize the centuries-old culture of the homeland."

Prokudin-Gorskii gained fame in 1890s, when he started delivering reports at the chemical-technological and photography departments of the Imperial Russian Technical Society and became one of the initiators of practical photography courses there. “Photography in natural colors” is his article which read about the necessity to create methodological handbooks: "Frequent questions asked after my demonstrations of color image technique, convince me of the necessity to write a special manual in this field in Russian. Sketchy instructions or translated articles do not give a real insight into ​​such a delicate process as natural color photography”. He wrote and published a series of brochures for course attendees. In the early 1900s, a laboratory and a workshop, as well as classes for courses attendees were opened at the researcher’s house in Bolshaya Podyacheskaya Street, 22.

Sergei Mikhailovich often addressed readers and discussed his works by means of Fotograf-lyubitel (Amateur photographer) magazine. Its issues have been digitized and made available on the portal of the Presidential Library. Prokudin-Gorskii recognized the key role of the color, and stressed that it was the color that made the photograph more vivid. The photographer’s method is in the spotlight of “Sketches of the Imperial Russian Technical Society”, which are focused on the report and experience of Prokudin-Gorskii in the field of color photography. In the articles “Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii” (Fotograf-lyubitel magazine, issue No. 7) and “Evenings of color photography” (Fotograficheskiye novosti (News of Photography), bulletin No 3) highlighted that Prokudin-Gorskii was not a novice, nor a self-taught amateur, but a professor of chemistry and a member of the Imperial Russian Technical Society.

The first color photographs of Prokudin-Gorskii made an overwhelming impression on the public. Emperor Nicholas II learned of the glory of the master. One of the documentaries available in the collection spotlights the meeting of the monarch with the artist. “The Color of Time” film features accounts of Prokudin-Gorsky.  “I told the Emperor about my ideas of various applications of my work, and added: "Your Majesty might be interested in seeing from time to time true Russia with its ancient monuments, as well as the beauty of the diverse nature of our great Motherland". By this time, Prokudin-Gorskii had already started building up his famous photo collection, which gave him a chance to travel across Russia in the early 20th century.

The article “The outstanding photographer” in the Fotografiya, No 4 (Photography) magazine, S. Garanina deals with the financial aspect. The author spent 10 rubles on each picture. About 1000 photographs were made per year, the processed material required a special storage room. The researcher offered the state to purchase ready-made images and subsidize further shooting, and noted that he needed the sum of money "that would enable to spend all my time doing this work."

The chairman of the Council of Ministers, Pyotr Arkadievich Stolypin, showed great interest in the collection of photos of Russia's sights: he signed several papers on conditions for purchasing the collection by the state and the place of its storage. The portal of the Presidential Library in particular provides access to the document “On acquiring by the state the collection of photographs of Russian sights, assembled by professor Prokudin-Gorsky”.

The photographer portrayed natural landscapes, military and technical monuments, churches and monasteries with documentary accuracy and excellent artistic taste, he managed to capture everyday life and diversity of peoples who lived in the empire. It is vividly illustrated by the photo album “The vast lands of Russia in color photography” - the joint project of the Karl Bulla Historical Photography Fund and the Presidential Library.

Prokudin-Gorskii did not finish his major plan – World War I broke out, and there was growing social unrest throughout the empire. However, the photographer had an opportunity to take pictures in the Urals, Siberia, Crimea, Dagestan, Finland, Central Asia, photos of travels along the Volga and the Oka. Unfortunately, after the events of 1917 the extensive collection was partly lost.

In 2010, the US Library of Congress provided about two thousand digitized color photographs of Prokudin-Gorskii to the Presidential Library, that entered its electronic collections. These are pictures taken between 1909 and 1912, and in 1916. They present Russia, its cities and villages, portraits of ordinary people and those, who won worldwide recognition for it - for example, the first color photograph of Leo Tolstoy. Today all these works are freely accessible in the above-mentioned “S. M. Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944) collection.

The documentary by Dutch director Ben van Lieshout “Inventory of the Motherland” was shown and discussed at the meeting of the cinema club of the Presidential Library. The film compares pictures of Prokudin-Gorskii made at the beginning of the century and the present-day filming.

The Presidential Library gives an opportunity to people living abroad discover works of S. M. Prokudin-Gorskii. Thus, at 69th Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2017 the Russian House of Science and Culture in Berlin launched the exhibition "The vast lands of Russia in color photographs by Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii". The exposition showcased 70 photographs made by the master as he travelled across the Russian Empire in the early 20th century.

Old photographs are of both great historical and cultural value: they help restorers recreate something that was once lost. In 2013 the Presidential Library provided pictures of the monuments of the first capital of Rus’ to the Staraya Ladoga Museum-Reserve. They contributed to the restoration and preservation of paintings in the St. George's Church, one of the few surviving examples of Russian frescoes of 12th century, most of which were lost in 17th century. "In one of the articles Prokudin-Gorskii noted: “I must admit, that a protocol underlies the photography”. It is this "protocol" animated by the master that now is the most valuable document of the history of culture”, S. Garanina notes.

Prokudin-Gorskii also left a significant literary heritage: books, articles, polemical literature, letters to readers in Fotograf-lyubitel (Amateur Photographer) magazine, letters, sketches, notebooks. These documents provide a clear evidence of high intelligence and creative temperament of the artist.