Grey Matters 1: Ermitazhniki
Lucia Ganieva
Schilt Publishing
Softcover
24 pages
22 x 245 mm
2010
ISBN 9789053307984
Photographer Lucia Ganieva visited the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg not to admire its wonderful art collection but to photograph the guards who keep an eye on the paintings as well as on the millions of art lovers and tourists passing through every year.
These guards often work for decades in the museum, as witnessed by the ID they carry on their chests – obviously first issued when the guards were much younger. The guards will typically work in the same room or hall for years, and over time one work of art will come to occupy a special place in their hearts.
So Lucia photographed the guards in front of their favourite painting, and in doing so she shows us something quite extraordinary: the guards have developed a remarkable resemblance to the persons portrayed in the paintings! Her portraits even show three portraits of the “same” woman! Look at the colours, the eyes, the shape of the head, the way they allow themselves to be portrayed!
About the Artist
Lucia Ganieva was born in Russia and has lived in the Netherlands since 1993. She studied photography at the Foto Academie Amsterdam and graduated with honours in 2007. Since then her photographs have been exhibited in many places worldwide.
About the Publisher
Schilt Publishing & Gallery, based in Amsterdam, is a publishing house specialised in high quality photography and art books as well as a commercial gallery representing a range of top class artists from all over the world.
