Prokudin-Gorsky Sergey Mikhailovich (1863-1944)

Russian photographer, inventor, pioneer of color photography in Russia, made a significant contribution to the development of photography and cinematography. He was born in the Prokudin-Gorsky family estate Funikova Gora in the Pokrov uyezd of the Vladimir province (now the village of Funikova Gora is located in the Kirzhach district  of the Vladimir region, 18 km east of Kirzhach). Only the oak grove with traces of the regular plan and the remains of cascade ponds remind today about an old noble manor. During the years 1903-1916, S.M. Prokudin-Gorsky created the world's first collection of color photographs, which is a unique object of cultural heritage. Today it is known as the "Collection of Sights of the Russian Empire of S.M. Prokudin-Gorsky".  Colored photographs from this collection reflect the diversity of nature, ethnographic features, the economy and transport of Russia in the early 20th century. There are lifetime photos of famous people – L.N. Tolstoy, F.I. Shalyapin, etc. The photographs also depict the monuments of architecture of different Russian regions, including those native to the photographer of the Vladimir province. Therefore, the collection of S.M. Prokudin-Gorsky became a kind of visual encyclopedia of the Russian Empire in the last years of its existence. The exposition dedicated to S.M. Prokudin-Gorsky was opened in the Kirzhach Regional Museum of History and Local Lore.