The exhibition presents copies of 100 photographs and postcards from the early twentieth century from the collection of the Bakhmut Museum of Local Lore, digitized in 2024 with the support of the Center for Urban History (Lviv) and the Khmelnytskyi Regional Art Museum. These are the products of Bakhmut photo studios by Rosalia and David Mereines, Leon and Isaac Hrylikhes, Hersh-Leiba Brodsky, Yefim Lviv, Mykhailo Itskovych, Emanuel Bilotserkivskyi, and Lazar Khadak. The photographs include portraits of townspeople and villagers, representatives of different professions and social classes, adults and children, and family group photos. Of great interest are the view photographs of different parts of the city, its historic buildings, some of which were destroyed during the Second World War, others have already suffered from the current Russian aggression.
Learning the art of photography at the beginning of the twentieth century was difficult and quite long: there were no photography schools, and every experienced photographer hid his or her practical knowledge. The apprenticeship usually took three years: at first, the beginner was just a boy on the run, then he took practical lessons from a specialist, then became his assistant, and finally got independent work. In photographic studios, there were several levels of skill: a copyist (someone who printed cards), a retoucher, and a photographer. Great importance was attached to retouching, which hid scratches on the photographic plate, dark spots on the negative, and skin defects on the photographed person’s face.
The predominant formats of photographs were cabinet portraits (16×10 to 17×11 cm) and visiting portraits (10×6 to 11×7 cm). Bakhmut photo studios also made large format multi-figure photographs. Almost all photographers used papier-mâché props: stones, stumps, columns, balustrades, as well as rugs depicting grass, high-backed chairs, carved tables, wooden benches painted to look like marble, and painted backdrops.
Private photo studios in Bakhmut that operated under Soviet rule were liquidated in 1930. Foreseeing this course of events and trying to survive, entrepreneurs-photographers already in 1926-1930 united in artels. Probably founded by M. Itskovych, the photo artel “Chervonyi Svitopys” (original name – “Red Light Painting”) continued its work in Bakhmut (Artemivsk) until the Second World War.
