Carpenter. Samarkand

1905
This photograph shows a carpenter in a colorful padded robe using a long-handled adze to shape a log. Stripped but unshaped logs lie to the right. Behind the man are gnarled plane trees. In the background is an imposing white-stuccoed wall, probably built for the Russian compound in Samarkand. The wall appears to be capped with turf. Many ethnic groups lived in Samarkand. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including two winter trips in January 1907 and February 1911. Turkestan appealed to him not only for its Islamic architecture but also for ethnic types and scenes of traditional life in cities such as Samarkand. This same man is shown in another photograph by Prokudin-Gorskii.

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Filename: 616.jpg
Copyright: acku Afghanistan
Image Size: 1800x1786 / 736.8KB; 1905 Uzbekistan Samarqand Samarkand Carpenter Gnarled Plane Trees Men Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii Photo WDL 010019
Contained in galleries: UZBEKISTAN

1905<br />
This photograph shows a carpenter in a colorful padded robe using a long-handled adze to shape a log. Stripped but unshaped logs lie to the right. Behind the man are gnarled plane trees. In the background is an imposing white-stuccoed wall, probably built for the Russian compound in Samarkand. The wall appears to be capped with turf. Many ethnic groups lived in Samarkand. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including two winter trips in January 1907 and February 1911. Turkestan appealed to him not only for its Islamic architecture but also for ethnic types and scenes of traditional life in cities such as Samarkand. This same man is shown in another photograph by Prokudin-Gorskii.