Collection of photographs

More than 24 000 units The most important exhibits include photos of such famous authors as I. (J.) Bianchi (1850-1880), K. K. Bulla (1890-1910), C. L. and L. C. Lewicki, A. I. Denier, A. F. Lawrence, W. Classen, F. V. Nicholaevsky.

The history of the collection of photographs in the Museum dates back to 1907, when St. Petersburg the ... ↓ Museum of Old Petersburg was founded (its official status and approved Charter the Museum of Old Petersburg received at the end of 1908). Organizers of the Museum took an active part in the formation of funds. They paid great attention to the collection of photos.

Today it is the richest collection of photographic sources in terms of volume and diversity. The pride of the Museum is the collection of photos (over 200 units) made by Ivan (Giovanni) Bianchi, the first light-painter of Petersburg, an outstanding photo-artist of the second half of the XIXth century. His large-format images capture the architectural ensembles of St. Petersburg and the interior of the palaces. Photos are made with great artistic skill, impeccable composition, they are priceless in their informational content. Very interesting are the photos of 1860-1870-ies, among them - the work of W. A. Carrick from the series "St. Petersburg types” and scenery snapshots of A. F. Lawrence, E. Yuar, F. Buff, A. I. Smirnov, N. D. Digo. Widely are presented photo portraits of 1870-1910-s, made by masters of the portrait genre K. I. Bergamasco, B. I. Yasvoin, E. L. Mrozovskaya, K. A. Shapiro and others. The Museum houses a collection of works (over 2000 units) of Karl Karlovich Bulla and his sons Alexander and Victor. Along with photos of portrait and event genres, the collection includes large-format images depicting architectural ensembles of our city. ↑

About 60 000 units. Throughout the XXth century the Museum has acquired or received as a gift the works of the best artists-photographers and photojournalists of St. Petersburg. In addition, the materials came from LenTASS, personal archives of residents and from customs. A large collection of photos of 1941-1945 was donated directly by military photographers. It includes works by famous ... ↓ masters D. M. Trakhtenberg, B.P. Kudoyarov, B. S. Losin, B. V. Utkin and others. In 1980 – 1990-ies, the Fund was supplemented by materials from the archives of the oldest St. Petersburg’s photographers: L. L. Sievert, I. N. Narovlyanski, V. P. Samoilov, A. F. Shuvalov. In recent years an impressive collection of works by modern masters was formed: V. S. Antonshenkov, A. A. Kitaev, S. A., Kompaniichenko, A. V. Krupnov, I. P. Potemkin, P. M. Markin, I. V. Gundareva, A. A. Smirnov, B. K. Degtyarev and others. The collection of photographs depicting the architecture of a city in the first half of XXth century is of great interest. Adequately complete is the photo gallery devoted to the Great Patriotic war, the Siege of Leningrad, the restoration of the city and its suburbs in the postwar period. The pictures are made by the Leningrad military photographers D. M. Trakhtenberg, B. V. Utkin, G. I. Chertov, B. S. Losin, V. G. Fedoseyev, V. I. Kapustin, N. P. Yanov and Moscow photographer B.P.Kudoyarov. In the 1960s - 1990s, due to the systematic acquisition, the Fund was supplemented by materials from the archives of the oldest photographers N. P. Karasev, L. L. Sievert, I. A., Narovlyanski, M. A. Kashe, V. P. Samoilov. The Museum is proud to keep a collection of photos showing all extant churches in St. Petersburg. This great work was accomplished in the 1980-ies by A. F. Shuvalov. In recent years, the Museum collection has expanded to include works of contemporary photographers of the St. Petersburg V.C. Antoshenkov, I. V. Gundareva, A. A. Kitaev, S. A. Kompaniichenko, L.S. Tabolina, I. P. Potemkin, S. A. Zakharov, A. V. Sladkov, P. M. Markin, S. V. Chabutkin, A. V. Usov and many other talented photographers. The undoubted success for the Museum was the acquisition of the collection of stereo photographs and stereo negatives numbering 6000 units. The creator of this collection, which presents the views of St. Petersburg - Petrograd - Leningrad and many other cities of the world was A. A., Krolenko (1889-1970), organizer and leader (1921-1929) of the publishing house "Academia". ↑