Back in 1904 young painter Boris Smirnov was sent by prisoner transport to Siberia; and his path went along the Great Siberian Tract. On his way he was making sketches of settlers and locals of this distant region, as well as of their way of life and Siberian landscape and eventually lining up a whole series of drawings and water-colour paintings.
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‘Dukhobor’ prisoner.
Krasnoyarsk’s babushka.
Porch above the Irtysh in Omsk.
Some girl in a Mordovian suit.
Bashkir village.
Civil servant of Irkutsk regional court.
Settlers’ children.
Witchdoctor from the Siberian village of Novoabdulino.
Old bell chamber.
Janitor in the streets of Irkutsk.
Christmas-tree in some rich family house.
Christmas-tree in a hospital.
Firry taiga in Irkutsk region.
Irkutsk woman of fashion.
Prisoner.
Irkutsk noblewomen, friends since they were at college.
Hut in Ural.
Explorers of then-unexplored lands.
Krasnoyarsk tradeswoman.
Krasnoyarsk Cossack.
Krasnoyarsk tradesman.
Some other tradespeople.
Moonlight night.
Monk that is trying to gather some money to build a church in Irkutsk.
Bridge cross the Irkut river.
On the Baikal shore.
At the dacha.
Prison train-car drives some criminals to Siberian woods.
Omsk. Solicitor
Easter Sunday and lots of snow; Irkutsk.
Beautiful Siberian forest.
Some settlers.
Train in Ural mountains, near the city of Zlatoust.
Nobleman, Irkutsk.
Fire in taiga woods, Krasnoyarsk region.
Ice-holes on the Irkut river.
Photo credits – 1
First again! My mother is proud!
My compliments to you for a fine achievement. Some people don’t appreciate the skill involved in being FIRST! First, I rub my bleary red eyes every morning and turn on computer. Then, I make love to my Natasha. Third, I check EnglishRussia to see what’s up, then I strike.
An AMAZING artist.
Indeed
It’s wonderful to have this artistic record of that region and people over 100 years later. I hope we see more of this artist’s work.
Some really beautiful work. I really wish I could do something like this. One looked almost like an old photo.
His last name is Smirnov NOT Smirnos.
My last name is Popov, as in “popoff the the cork and start drinkin.”
These are beautiful. As an artist myself, I am thoroughly impressed. I love the integration of materials and the tone of the series.
Is that a PPSh on the back of the kid with the Christmas Tree. How the..?
surely looks like a PPSH it d be awesome to have one in 1904
I hope you know that this is just toy.
Yes, and he’s holding the girl and dolls captive.
Beautiful use of light. Very cool stuff from pre-Soviet times.
Beautiful Artist very natural.
All of his paintings are beautiful but the one I like most is Moonlight Night in which he used the shade of light brilliantly.
Not only his paintings are beautiful but it gives the inside of live of the peoples of that era in Siberia region.
gaglsrgg
“Christmas-tree in some rich family house.”
this picture cant be “early 20. century” because the boy is carrying a PPSh submachine gun, that was developed in 1940. i dont think, these appeared as toys before late 40′s.
of course, there is a light possibility, this is a similar “suomi” SMG, that was developed 10 years earlier, but then thi picture is certainly NOT of siberia but rather finland.
but still i’m pretty sure, this is PPSh due to its shape.
Russia is a country filled with gifted artists. At least it was.
Those are pretty good.
very nice…………….
I think that the picture with the boy with the PPSH accidentially slipped in, all the rest seems very beginning of 20th century, because of the special glasses, and well, around the 1940s there weren’t any Russian noblemen and tradesmen left…
Well, one could certainly speculate whether the most of the pictures are Siberia or not, but the one with the man collecting money in front of the chirch is DEFINITELY Irkutsk. I do recognize the chirch, it’s still standing there.
Best you could make changes to the post subject English Russia » Siberia in the Early 20-th Century to something more catching for your blog post you write. I loved the the writing however.