Smolensk Cemetery, Leningrad

1987

Boris Smelov

Associated Names
Boris Smelov

Artist, Russian, 1951 - 1998

This is a photograph of a graveyard scene with a building in the background. The image is captured in black and white. In the foreground, there is a gravestone with an inscription in Russian. The background features an old building with a sloped roof and visible brick chimneys. A tree with bare branches stretches across the scene, casting shadows onto the building's surface. Several crosses are visible, both standing and as shadows. The interplay of light and shadow, alongside the stark trees, creates a mood of contemplation and remembrance.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Corcoran Collection (Gift of the artist)

  • Dimensions

    image: 21.2 × 32.6 cm (8 3/8 × 12 13/16 in.)
    sheet: 29.85 × 39.8 cm (11 3/4 × 15 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2015.19.4502

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Boris Smelov, St. Petersburg, Russia; gift to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1995; acquired by NGA, 2015.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1991

  • Changing Reality: Recent Soviet Photography, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, May 11 – July 7, 1991; Fine Arts Center, Cheekwood, Nashville, TN, September 19 – November 1, 1992; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, March 28 – May 9, 1993; Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, VA, January – February, 1994; Haverford College, Haverford, PA, March – May, 1994

Bibliography

1991

  • Bendavid-Val, Leah ed. Changing Reality: Recent Soviet Photography. Exh. cat. Corcoran Gallery of Art and Art Services International, Washington, DC, 1991: 76.

Inscriptions

on verso, signed by artist, upper center in graphite: Smelov Boris / ,, Зачем пережить тебя люблю моя; by Corcoran Gallery of Art, bottom right corner: 1995.47.3

Wikidata ID

Q64145474

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