In the early 20th century, Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky pioneered the art of color photography. A Russian chemist and photographer born in 1863, Prokudin-Gorsky aspired to capture the essence of the Russian Empire using color, a revolutionary idea at a time when black-and-white photos were the norm. With a keen scientific mind and artistic eye, he developed a unique technique that brought his images to life with vibrant colors.
Prokudin-Gorsky’s color photography method involved taking three separate black-and-white photographs in quick succession, each with a different color filter—red, green, and blue. When these filtered images were later projected through their respective colored filters, they combined to recreate a full-color image. This additive color process was inspired by the works of color photography pioneers James Clerk Maxwell and Hermann von Helmholtz. Prokudin-Gorsky’s approach produced incredibly accurate and striking images, though the process was complex and required specialized equipment.
The Russian government recognized the value of Prokudin-Gorsky’s work, granting him a special railway carriage equipped as a darkroom. This enabled him to travel the empire, capturing scenes of everyday life, landscapes, historical architecture, and industrial sites. His photographs, such as images of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow and portraits of Russian peasants, are regarded as some of the earliest and most detailed color images of the Russian Empire, preserving a visual record of pre-revolutionary Russia.
Prokudin-Gorsky’s legacy endures today, with his work archived and displayed globally, notably at the Library of Congress, which acquired his collection in the 1940s. His early color photos remain a testament to the artistry and innovation that captured a unique time in history with vibrant realism.
