CURATOR’S SELECTION #16: JULIA GRIMES FROM GETTY ANALYSIS INSTITUTE

Julia Grimes, research assistant during the Getty analysis Institute, presents a remarkable choice of pictures through the Pierre de Gigord Collection detailing life that is armenian the 19th-century Ottoman Empire, numerous through the studio of Armenian photographers Pascal Sebah additionally the Abdullah Freres.

Profiting from the generosity that is continued of photograph collector Pierre de Gigord, the Getty analysis Institute (GRI) has put together a thorough number of pictures documenting the 19th-century Ottoman Empire, especially the location which we understand now as Turkey. An increasing number of these photographs depict the Armenian community inside the kingdom, representing spiritual leaders, families, and folks in complete cultural gown. Besides those located in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), the Ottoman money and precise location of the major photographic studios, specific pictures additionally record information on life various other urban centers, including valuable views of these Armenian quarters.

J. Pascal Sebah (Armenian, 1823-1886), Armenian Patriarch, ca. 1880. Los Angeles, Getty Analysis Institute (96.R.14, Box 80)

J. Pascal Sebah (Armenian, 1823-1886), Armenian Family, ca. 1880. L . A ., Getty Analysis Institute (96.R.14, Box 80)

Photographie Tchamlidjian Studio (Armenian, active ca. 1880), Group of Armenian Men in Checkered Jackets, 1883. L . A ., Getty Research Institute (96.R.14, Box 69)

Guillaume Berggren (Swedish, 1835-1920), Entry towards the principal Street of Pera, ca. 1870. L . A ., Getty Analysis Institute (2008.R.3, No. 3547)

Possibly the many aspect that is fascinating of Gigord collection may be the quantity of pictures taken by Armenian photographers. As a result of the employment that is frequent of as chemists, goldsmiths, and pharmacists, numerous possessed the relevant skills required for photography, in specific a comprehensive understanding of the chemical processes found in development. Some of the principal studios in Constantinople were owned and operated by photographers of Armenian descent during the late-nineteenth century. Pascal Sebah, as an example, opened his “El Chark” studio in 1857, and also by 1873 had accomplished success that is such their elegant, crisply step-by-step portraits which he started an additional branch in Cairo, Egypt. By the time of their death thirteen years later on, their title had become similar to studio photography in Constantinople towards the degree that his studio stayed active as well as the managing that is new, Polycarpe Joaillier, changed its title to “Sebah and Joaillier.” The business enterprise proceeded to prosper and achieve renown, even incorporating Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to its listing of customers in 1889 during their stop by at Constantinople.

A portrait of two Armenian guys in complete dress taken circa 1875 reveals Sebah’s mastery of both the technical areas of photography and its particular usage being a artistic medium. The men’s formal poses showcase their wide pants, scarves, and hats, facets of old-fashioned costume that is armenian might have instantly triggered recognition among people. Their expressions match the dignity of these posture. This can be a posed studio picture, likely staged by Sebah and his assistants to portray these guys as being a “type,” or as representatives regarding the Armenian ethnic team to which he additionally belonged. The control over tonalities, or perhaps the way when the color that is sepia of photograph differs from light to dark, expressing regions of lighting and shadow, is probably the qualities which many plainly signals Sebah’s ability as an artist.

J. Pascal Sebah (Armenian, 1823-1886), Armenian Men, ca. 1875. Los Angeles, Getty Analysis Institute (96.R.14, Box 77)

comparable control of tonality and composition is visible in Sebah’s record, Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873, commissioned by Ottoman diplomat, artist, and creator of Istanbul’s Academy of Fine Arts, Osman Hamdi Bey. In looking for a professional professional professional photographer to depict the individuals associated with Ottoman Empire when it comes to 1873 Global Exposition in Vienna, Osman Hamdi Bey decided to go with Sebah as a result of refined beauty of their design. The image of an bride that is armenian the main figure in Plate V, captures this quality aided by the way when the dangling tassels, necklace, and gold pattern regarding the bride’s costume catch the light, contrasting using the delicate lace of her veil.

J. Pascal Sebah (Armenian, 1823-1886), Constantinople: Armenian Bride. From Osman Hamdi Bey (Turkish, 1842-1910), Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873: ouvrage publie le that is sous de la Commission imperiale ottomane pour l’Exposition universelle de Vienne. Los Angeles, Getty Analysis Institute (96.R.14, Box 139)

The standards that are high by Pascal Sebah stayed a hallmark of their studio, even with their death. The 1894 Sebah and Joaillier image associated with quarter that is armenian Brousse, found throughout the water of Marmara from Istanbul, for example, presents a unique view taken on a hill. Like in the image associated with two Armenian guys, the mastery of tonalities for which Sebah’s studio had been understood is once more on display. The bright midday sunlight posed a challenge, as it could easily clean out of the details of gestures, faces, and items, nevertheless the photographer deftly dealt with this particular problem by positioning the tiny youngster to your right of this road beneath the final in a line of woods, enabling the shadows to pay for the glare. Near examination reveals that each and every individual into the image is put into the shade, either of this woods or of this two-story buildings regarding the side that is opposite of road.

Sebah & Joaillier Studio (Armenian, active 1890-1940s), Brousse: Armenian Quarter, 1894. Los Angeles, Getty Analysis Institute (96.R.14, Box 70)

The “Abdullah Freres” studio, run by three brothers of Armenian lineage, exposed in 1858 and quickly became therefore honored for the skills that are technical artistry that simply 5 years later on the brothers had been known as royal photographers towards the Ottoman Sultan. In 1867, they exhibited their 220 cm-long panorama of Constantinople at the 2nd Overseas Exposition held in Paris, going beyond the studio to show their equal cap ability as landscape photographers internationally. They hosted a clientele that is distinguished these years, photographing Edward, the Prince of Wales, during their stop by at Turkey, and Eugenie, the Empress of France. By 1886, their popularity had spread in terms of Egypt, and also at the non-public demand of this Khedive (Viceroy) here, additionally they launched a branch in Cairo which lasted when it comes to next ten years. Interestingly enough, their Constantinople studio merged with compared to Pascal Sebah whenever Abdullah Freres offered it to Sebah and Joaillier in 1900.

The Abdullah Freres excelled at recording landscapes, “types,” and scenes of day to day life when you look at the major metropolises associated with Ottoman Empire. Their picture for the Galata Bridge, the connection spanning the Golden Horn in Constantinople and something associated with the town’s principal landmarks, is remarkable because of its view for the Old City. The blurred images of boats in the middle ground suggest a bustling site of commerce, an urban landscape where the traditional meets the modern in dynamic patterns of exchange as minarets soar in the distance.

Abdullah Freres Studio (Armenian, active 1850s-1900), Galata Bridge. From Abdullah Freres, O.H. Views, 1875-1880, 1884. L . A ., Getty Analysis Institute (96.R.14, A10)

a collection of five studio photographs depicting a porter and varied forms of road vendors stages an interchange that is similar for even though men’s professions are old-fashioned, these are generally now being represented with the modern medium and conventions of photography, including backdrops, studio lighting, and carefully choreographed poses.

Sebah & Joaillier Studio (Armenian, active 1890-1940s), Porter and Street Vendors. From Abdullah Freres, O.H. Views, 1875-1880, 1884. Los Angeles, Getty Analysis Institute (96.R.14, A10)

Less rigorously staged, yet high in power, may be the Abdullah Freres image of a fire brigade in Constantinople. As a result of age and proximity of several structures, combined with substantial usage of wooden timbers in construction, the town lived under constant risk of fire, and firefighters hence held a substantial part in the city. By dedicating a record web web page for them especially, the Abdullah Freres respected their value to life that is civic simultaneously showing the preparedness and modernity of Constantinople’s municipal solutions.

Abdullah Freres Studio (Armenian, active 1850s-1900), Fire Brigade. From Turquie, 1880. L . A . russian bride, Getty Analysis Institute (96.R.14, A25)

These brief examples expose just a small fraction associated with the degree of Armenian participation in photography through the century that is late-nineteenth. There have been lots of other Armenians working not merely in Ottoman lands however in Eastern Europe and Central Asia whose legacy nevertheless stays to be explored. Since the amount of pictures through the Gigord Collection for sale in the Getty’s electronic collections keeps growing, it really is our hope that details about this remarkable historic website link between the Armenian community and photography for the reason that age will end up more commonly available, and that fresh discoveries will still be made. The real history of photography is really a fairly new control, and also this chapter continues to be being written.

Julia Grimes is finishing her Ph.D. in Chinese contemporary and modern art at the University of Ca, Los Angeles. She’s got been research associate in the Getty analysis Institute since 2010.

Explore more photographs through the Pierre Gigord collection over during the Getty analysis Institute web site. There are many more than one hundred pictures within their Open Content Program and much more than 30 records available through their “Rosetta” database ( simply simply click on website link in top corner that is right access records).

This post is component of y our Curator’s solution show, a month-to-month function consisting of the visitor article from the curator of a work or band of works in just one of their “open” electronic collections. The show is undertaken together with OpenGLAM making feasible through money through the European Union’s DM2E task.