History of Russia: “The Age of the Daguerreotype. Early Russian Photography” exhibition opens in St. Petersburg

As a part of “Hermitage Days 2011” on December 7th 2011 the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg) is staging a new exhibition “The Age of the Daguerreotype. Early Russian Photography”.

The exhibition comprises 72 daguerreotypes from the collections of the State Hermitage Museum, Literary Museum of the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of Arts Scientific Library.

Among the exhibits there are unique works made by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre – the inventor of the daguerreotype process of photography - in 1839 and magnificent examples of portrait photography of the 1840s-1850s. These photographs show Karl Bryullov, M. M. Stasyulevich, N. A. Maikov and V. N. Maikov, D. V. Stasov, Prince P. P. Vyazemsky, M. M. Poludensky, K. D. Kavelin, A. Ya. Panaeva, Count A. A. Bobrinsky, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna; on display are also portraits of Decembrists which have survived by chance.