Historia

Zaharova S.V., Stavropol, the Stavropol state university, the post-graduate student of chair of cultural science and library science.

Development of photography in the end of the 19^th - the beginning of the 20^th century in a provincial part of Russia (on the example of Stavropol Territory).

The summary: The article deals with the description of photography development in the second half of the 19^th –the beginning of the 20^th century. The author explores the way the photography was developing in provincial part of Russia, shows its role in national history.

Keywords: photoart, a photo, photography, a photographic society, a photo master.

1. Introduction. There is no area of human activity in which photography would not be applied. It has strongly entered into life of a modern society. No branch of modern science can manage without photography: neither medicine, nor metallurgy, neither cinema, nor astronautics, neither chemistry, nor physics. A photo is an invariable and important element of newspapers, magazines, books. It happened first of all because photos embody data about the world around us, make any information more bright and visual, help the person to get into secrets of nature, strengthen emotional influence of a word, store valuable images. That is why it is urgent to study the problem of the development of photography. Besides, photography is a documentary art. It bears and stores the information, irreplaceable and valuable to historians. That is the value and the main difference of photo art from plastic arts.

2. Statement of a problem (purpose). The aim of this research is to study the history of photography and consider the problems of its development. To achieve the goal of our research we used the following methods: the analysis of the theoretical literature, work with funds of archives, comparative analysis of documentary photographs in funds of museums.

3. Results. The second half of the 19^th century was the time of rapid development of photography in Russia. From the 60th a lot of photographic studios began to arise in streets of country towns. That is the time when photography came to the Stavropol province. It was connected with the visit of S.L. Levitsky – the ancestor of Russian photo – to Kavminvody region in1843. He worked in the state committee that was studying this region [1,p.50].

In Russian photoart there were a lot of well-known experts who have passed the career ladder from a fan to a professional. Among them there were many photographers from Stavropol region. One of them - Grigory Ivanovich Raev. Among his works were photo albums reproducing the picturesque views of Caucasus, Stavropol and cities of the Caucasian Mineral Waters; hundreds of picture post cards, hand-made coloured photos, fashionable in that time three-dimensional photos with volume visual effect. One could buy any of them in Raev’s workshop or order them by post. Raev made all pictures by himself. «All kinds of picture series that I sell are made personally by me», -wrote the photographer in one of his catalogues.

One of his themes was the Lermontov’s one. In 1877 it, by request of the director of the Caucasian Mineral Waters, he made the first picture of a small house of M. Lermontov in Pyatigorsk. The first photo of the place of duel of the poet was also made by Raev (1878). Further he made pictures of all the places on Stavropol Territory that Michael Jurevich used to visit.

For the pictures presented in Russian and international exhibitions, Raev has won more than 20 honourable diplomas, gold and silver medals (he got his first silver medal in 1888 from Russian technical society). He was given the French award «Honourable legion» in 1880. His works were published in France, Germany, England, Italy, Norway, Finland [3, p. 175].

Photo development as well as other areas of knowledge, cannot be successful enough without scientific communication and experience exchange. In 1878 a group of enthusiasts founded V (the Fifth) Photographic Department of Russian Technical Society (RTS) in Petersburg though the society was already engaged in issues of photography since 1870. The Department had the goal «to develop and improve the technical, scientific and art fields of photography and its applications». It carried out mutual dialogue of scientists and photographers, propagandized the achieved results and promoted the development of Russian photography in photo technique area and its various applications.

The activity of the Department successfully developed till 1894. Since 1880 it has been publishing its own periodic magazine "Photographer" under V.I.Sreznevsky's edition, and also collections of works where reports and articles of members of Russian Technical Society were printed and photographic novelties were described [4, p.54-55].

At the same time in many Russian cities local photographic societies (in Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa, Riga, etc.) began to appear. The most active and authorized of them was Russian photographic society in Moscow (1894-1930), that further became the All-Russian one. The society had laboratories, the studio for practical work and a published magazine "Photo Bulletin" in 1908-1918. Photography didn’t become an independent art as soon as it was born. Being derived from painting, photography was strongly influenced by it for a long time.

In 1882 there was an important event – a Photography Department of RTS called the All-Russia congress on photography, which was considered to be the part of All-Russia industrial exhibition.

In 1896 Russian photographic society called the First Congress of Russian Photographers in Moscow in which more that 200 persons took part. The second similar congress took place in 1908 in Kiev [1, p.50].

Not only the applied photography was developing in that time but the scientific one either. In Russia a photo as a method of research was developed by E.F.Burinsky, it was applied successfully by I.I.Mechnikov, K.A.Timirjazev and A.S. Faminzin — in biology, V.K.Tserasky, A.S.Steinberg, S.N.Blazhko — in astronomy. In various areas of a science photography was involved as a method of observation for documenting and research. And in each area of science one or another part of photography technique was developing [5, p. 99].

Considering photo development in the Stavropol province it is necessary to note some features. The person who wanted to open a constant photographer's studio had to write the application to a provincial office addressed to the governor: “I ask your Excellency to give me the permission... to make pictures within the Stavropol province... and to open a photo studio in the provincial city of Stavropol...”. Besides, the information about moral qualities, behavior and political reliability of the applicant was demanded. The inquiries were sent from the office to gendarme management and Stavropol chief policeman. If the reference was good («... Moral qualities are good, was not and does not consist under court and a trial», «... Data on political unreliability are not available») the governor gave the certificate on the right “to open a photo…under personal responsibility for infringement of rules about photographic institutions». A certificate was transferred to a future owner through the senior city policeman and a police officer on receipt which then went to the office of a governor.

Having explored the funds of local archives we’ve managed to reveal the names of the owners of the first photographer's studios. Among them were peasants, petty bourgeoises, officials (F.Marx, V.Svishchev, N.Dmitriev). Nobelmen and merchants (S.I.Vasilevsky, G.I.Tretjakov) were also fond of photobusiness. G.I.Tretjakov, a merchant of the second guild, unlike other photographers who were writing out photographic materials from Moscow and St.-Petersburg, had his own “second-hand” warehouse of photoaccessories [3, p. 176].

A photo studio represented a room arranged with decorative furniture, with a glass ceiling and a wall, that is why photographer's studios sometimes were called “glass pavilion”. Other walls were pasted over with wall-paper of different tones. On little tables for shooting used to lay some knickknacks (artificial flowers, books, caskets, pocket mirrors, etc.). Sometimes visitors brought their own things for shooting. Photographers carried out the diversified kinds of works in studios: they produced individual, pair, group photographs, increased the portraits to a desirable size, printed photos on glass and made a retouch.

Photos were pasted on cardboard forms, on which a surname and the initials of a master, firm’s name and the address of a studio were written: “Photographie N. Mokin. Stavropol”, “N.Tregubov and K.Kozlov. Stavropol”, “the Photo of Tosunova С.М. The supplier of Deputy of His Imperial Majesty on Caucasus, street Vorontsovsky, 8, near the post office. Awarded the Highest Good fortune of His Imperial Majesty of the Sovereign of Emperor Nikolay Aleksandrovich and Gosudaryna the Empress Aleksandra Fedorovna”. Besides, it was accepted to represent the awards received on Russian and international photo-exhibitions (if a photographer had ones) on a cardboard.

However from the first years of the existence photography showed interest not only to a portrait, but also to a genre of nature views(views of Pyatigorsk, Kislovodsk by S.L.Levitsky).

Among well-known local photomasters who worked on the Stavropol theme were G.Raev, N.Tregubov, A.Engel, F.Marks, G.Tretjakov, whose albums are stored in regional museums and local archives. Attention of photographers drew epoch-making events and ordinary, architectural monuments in cities and their vicinity, a life and population classes, transport: “The Meal of Grammar-school Girls”, “Stavropol. The Entrance into the Recreation Park”, “Vicinities of Kislovodsk”, “Falls on the River Olhovka”, “Essentuki. A Bathing Building of a Name of Nikolay II”.

Collections of the Stavropol state museum and the State archive of Stavropol Territory give representation about interiors of houses of noblemen, merchants, simple townspeople.

In the end of the 19^th century the subjects for taking photos considerably extended. A lot of historical pictures appeared: photos of military camps, portraits of participants of fighting operations. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to determine authorship for most of photos, as they have no stamps with the names of photographers [3, p. 176-177].

It is necessary to notice that the contingent of the photographers working in the North Caucasus, was diverse enough. Along with well-known artists many people of lower professional level were engaged in photography. That’s how the person who was on vacation in Zheleznovodsk describes the local photographers: “... There are two photographers on Caucasian Mineral Waters Territory – Mr. Engel and Mr. Patvakin. Mr. Engel is a good photographer and his pictures of Caucasian waters are perfectly known everywhere. Mr. Patvakin, on the contrary, is known as the virtuoso of giving the image the considerable difference from the real one…” [6, p.42].

In 1908 eleven photographic societies of Russia addressed the State Duma with the petition to support their copyrights. “To Russian photographers, — they wrote, — is given the honor to be the first world-wide recognized artists which works testify that photography is an art, while in Western Europe it is still in embryo belongs” [2, p.24] .

In the beginning of the 20^th century Raev's activity proceeds on Stavropol Territory. In 1903 Russian geographical society gave him the award (the big silver medal) for the picture of Elbrus. Being a member of the Caucasian mountain society, Grigory Ivanovich made a big contribution (especially his photos) to the “Lermontov's House Museum”. In 1912 he became the first director of the museum [3, p.175].

4. Conclusions. The creative heritage of local photographers of that time is really invaluable: their works with huge expressiveness and high quality of manufacturing, allow to restore views of cities and villages of "old" Stavropol Territory, to see their history and the history of gone generations. Achievements of photography have generated a new discovery of the century — the cinema, which has become a mass and a folk art nowadays.

The literature:

1. Bloomfield V.P. From a photo history. М, 1988.

2. L.F Wolkov-Lannit .Art's of a photograph. М: Art. 1987.

3. Kuznetzova N.A. Photo of the Stavropol province in last quarter of XIX century//the North Caucasus and the nomadic world of steppes of Eurasia: V Minaevsky readings on archeology, ethnography and study of local lore of the North Caucasus. Theses of reports of inter-regional scientific conference (on April, 12-15th, 2001). Stavropol, 2001.

4. Kuznetzova N.A Photographic societies and teaching photographic science in Russia (to. XIX century - 20th of XX century)//IV Minaevsky readings on archeology, ethnography and study of local lore of the North Caucasus. Materials regions scientific conference (on April, 9th, 2000). Stavropol, 2000.

5. Morozov. S. The first Russian photographers-artists. Мoskow, 1952.

6. Prokopenko Y.A. Zheleznovodsk. History pages. Stavropol,1998.