The very first color portraits of Russian residents

Russian Russian photographer, chemist (Mendeleev's student), inventor, publisher, teacher and public figure, member of the Imperial Russian Geographical and Photographic Societies Sergey Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorsky. Being a pioneer of color photography in Russia, he created "Collections of sights of the Russian Empire", making a significant contribution to the development of photography and cinematography.

Prokudin-Gorsky was born on August 30, 1863 in the city of Murom, Vladimir province. He studied at the Technological Institute in St. Petersburg, then continued his education in Germany, where he got acquainted with the works of the German chemist A. Mitet on color reproduction. Since that time, he has been interested in photography and begins research in a new field — color photography.

We have prepared a series of the first color portraits of the inhabitants of Russia by this outstanding Russian photographer.

1. A girl with strawberries. The village of Topornya. Vologda province, 1909.

2. Peasant girls. The village of Topornya. Vologda province, 1909.

3. Children in Belozersk, Vologda province, 1909.

4. Sawyers on Vytegra. Lake Onega, 1909.

5. The fire brigade in Vytegra, the shore of Lake Onega, 1909.

6. Peasant woman, Perm province.

7. Construction of a dam in Beloomut, Moscow province, 1912.

8. Peasants.

9. On the harvest. Vologda province, 1909. 10. Peasant family.

11. The only "unsolved" portrait taken by a photographer.

12. City employee, 1907.

13. City employee A.P. Kalganov poses for a portrait with his son and granddaughter, the city of Zlatoust.

14. On the right — S.M. Prokudin-Gorsky. Expedition to the Arkhangelsk province.