Lyudmila Khmelnitskaya's new book tells about a Vitebsk photographer who captured famous townspeople of the 19th century

The author of the publication is Lyudmila Khmelnitskaya, Director of the Marc Chagall Museum. The book "Sigismund Yurkovsky – A Photographer from Vitebsk" continues the series "Chagall House Bookshop".

The author of the publication is Lyudmila Khmelnitskaya, Director of the Marc Chagall Museum. The book "Sigismund Yurkovsky – A Photographer from Vitebsk" continues the series "Chagall House Bookshop". It was launched last year with historical essays by conductor Gavriil Yudin, "Musical Life of Vitebsk in the First Quarter of the 20th Century". "Further plans include the release of memoir and fiction literature.

Lyudmila Khmelnitskaya, speaking about the new book, admitted that she came across the topic of Yurkovsky by chance. While working in the archive, she stumbled upon the service record of a Vitebsk photographer. This became the beginning of meticulous work.

– Little is known about Sigismund Yurkovsky; he was a modest person, avoided publicity, so newspapers of that time did not write about him. He didn't even think to patent his invention of the curtain-shutter, which was a breakthrough in photography. This improvement is attributed to the British and Germans, but photo experts worldwide recognize Yurkovsky's primacy, – says Lyudmila Khmelnitskaya.

The author defined the genre of the book as "a portrait against the backdrop of an era". It contains interesting material about Vitebsk in the second half of the 19th century. Yurkovsky's photographs serve as illustrations. He was one of the first to capture the most significant religious and civil buildings, and new structures that were built in the city on the Dvina at that time. The photographer framed his pictures with an artistic graphic border, hung on a cord on a small nail.

– It is noteworthy that the first landscape shots were taken early in the morning and there are no people in them. This is because a long exposure was required. There were also staged photos, where passers-by were asked to freeze for a couple of minutes, however, the horses did not obey the command, and as a result, an attentive viewer notices that in the famous photograph "Delivery of a steam locomotive to the construction railway line Orel – Vitebsk, 1867", instead of four horse legs, there are eight. And after using his innovation – the instantaneous photographic shutter – Yurkovsky was already shooting reportage views, – explains Lyudmila Khmelnitskaya.

Sigizmund Yurkovsky took up photography in his mature years. Before that, he studied in St. Petersburg as a medical surgeon, but at the same time took lessons from the famous imperial photographer Denier. Until the age of 33, he served as an excise official in Mogilev, and in 1866 he came to Vitebsk and opened a studio on Zamkovaya Street, which existed for 35 years. All famous citizens of that time visited the photo studio. Ilya Repin also had his portrait taken by the Vitebsk photographer. Yurkovsky was friends with Ilya Efimovich, visited his estate Zdravnevo, photographed the artist and his house. By the way, the Vitebsk master was also a pioneer in the introduction of forensic photography in criminalistics in Russia.

Sigizmund Yurkovsky died in 1901 in Kovno (now Kaunas, Lithuania), his body was transported to Vitebsk and buried in the cemetery at the church of St. Barbara. Unfortunately, the tombstone has not been preserved. And the memory of the talented inventor, a photographer who left invaluable photographs of Vitebsk of the last century, is not immortalized in the city in any way.

Five years ago, the regional museum of local lore, whose collection includes about 26 photographs by Sigismund Yurkovsky, released a set of postcards with popular views of Vitebsk. The book, however, most fully presents the photographer's legacy. It contains over 80 reproductions from museum collections, as well as private collections. As Lyudmila Khmelnitskaya explained, the photographs from the family album of a distant relative of the Vitebsk photographer from Russia, posted on the Internet, were a real gift. The book also includes articles by Yurkovsky that were published in photography magazines of that time.

The illustrated biography is published in an edition of one thousand copies by the Minsk publishing house "Four Quarters". The book presentation for a wide range of readers will take place on Saturday, August 30, at 4 p.m. at the Marc Chagall Art Center.

Tatyana Pasternak, "Vitebskiye Vesti"