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| Color photograph of Andreyev |
Leonid Andreyev was a Russian writer who experimented with early color photography, taking selfies between 1910 and 1914.
These are true color photos using the Autochrome method, decades before Eastman Kodak's process.
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| Oil painting of Leonid Andreyev by Ilya Repin |
Andreyev was also a friend of the great artist Ilya Repin, who painted several portraits of him.
So we have the rare treat of being able to compare color photographs of one of Repin's models with some painted portraits.
They're not in the same poses, not taken at the same time, and Repin didn't use these photos as reference.
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Book: Photographs by a Russian Writer Leonid Andreyev: An Undiscovered Portrait of Pre-Revolutionary Russia
Leonid Andreyev - his Autochromes, and two portraits by Repin
Previously: How Sargent Interpreted Carolus-Duran
The photographs are quite remarkable. Because of their timeless settings they look like taken today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Certainly can see the likeness, what a great find.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how ordinary, how "real," the color photos make this fellow look. The second one, especially, could be a 2018 shot of someone's roommate. Often black-and-white photos of people from this era give off a "period" vibe, possibly because so many viewers think of b&w photography as "pre-color" photography...in other words, old pictures. It reminds me of a "Calvin and Hobbes" strip in which Calvin's dad claims that when he was a boy the world was in black and white; color didn't come until later.
ReplyDeleteThe last painting is also a good example of "loaded edges" that you wrote an excellent post about (an eye opener for me).
ReplyDelete