Portfolio: Sergei Produkin-Gorsky provides a record of life before fall of Romanov dynasty
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.As ruler of the largest single territory in the world at the time, it was impossible for Tsar Nicholas II to travel the extent of Russia, which at the turn of the 20th century extended from Finland to Turkestan, and from Poland to Siberia.
Impressed with the pioneering work in colour photography by the chemist Sergei Produkin-Gorsky, the Tsar hired the sometime photographer to travel around his empire and document its most remote lands and people.
Travelling by horse-drawn carriage, boat and rail from 1909 to 1915, Produkin-Gorsky collected over 10,000 images, providing a record of life just before the fall of the Romanov dynasty in 1917.
Remarkably, until about 10 years ago, we were unable to see the pictures as printed objects. Produkin-Gorsky's technique was the three colour separation process, which entailed capturing images with three black-and-white photographs taken through different coloured filters. When the lenses were combined, the images could be seen in colour, but only as projections.
"Developments in digital composition technique towards the end of the 20th century enabled us to develop prints and see what the images would have looked like when Produkin-Gorsky presented them to the Tsar," says Kate Bush, curator of a new exhibition that includes some of the pictures.
"As well as doing a job, I think he was an incredible artist, with an enormous vision. He wanted to educate his people about their country. It was hugely ambitious."
'Close and Far: Russian Photography Now', Calvert 22 Gallery, London E2, Wednesday to 17 August, calvert22.org
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments