During the Street Photo Milano 2019, an extraordinary photographic exhibition took place in the Italian city of Milan. An outstanding collection of photographic images, which have not been seen in more than 70 years, came back to life on Canson Infinity paper (Baryta Prestige) and were finally shown to the public, allowing thousands of visitors to admire the precious art of the brothers Evgeny and Yakov Henkin, recognized pioneers of street photography.
ANNONAY, France, Nov. 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
The Henkin Brothers story
Evgeny and Yakov Henkin were born in the Russian Empire, in 1900 and 1903 respectively. In the aftermath of the disruptions of 1917, Evgeny decided to move to Berlin, where he worked as a musician. Yakov with his young family settled in Leningrad (now again St. Petersburg) and became an economist. Despite the distance that separated them, the passion for photography continued to animate both of their lives: the two brothers were able to capture life of the 1930s in Berlin and Leningrad. The gestures, the smiles, the eyes of ordinary people encountered in the streets: a style anticipating the genre of street photography as we know and practice it today. Evgeny and Yakov left behind them a passionate portrait of two very different great cities between two World Wars. Politics kept changing the course of events; neither brother survived the tragic events of their time.
The brothers took the photos but never printed the films. Their art could have been easily lost, but through a series of fortunate coincidences it reached the 21st century. Early in 2000s several boxes with old negatives were rediscovered by members of Yakov Henkin’s family (who are now represented by the non-profit Swiss Henkin Brothers Archive Association (HBAA), which holds the copyright to all the images).
Since this discovery, the art of the Henkin brothers has been exhibited publicly only twice: at the State Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg in 2017, and at the Street Photo Milano in May 2019.
The Baryta Prestige and the fine art photographic reproduction
The recovery of the photographs was possible thanks to a digitization work, but it is only through printing that images acquired this artistic value that today we recognize to them. For the exhibition in Milan, the photos were printed on Canson Infinity's Baryta Prestige paper, a fine art paper able to emulate the aesthetics look and feel of traditional darkroom prints. A choice of quality made to guarantee substantiality and durability for the photos, particularly suitable for the reproduction of black and white images, bringing out the best of the Henkin brothers important artistic heritage.
The recovery of the photographs was possible thanks to a digitization work, but it is only through printing that images acquired this artistic value that today we recognize to them. For the exhibition in Milan, the photos were printed on Canson Infinity's Baryta Prestige paper, a fine art paper able to emulate the aesthetics look and feel of traditional darkroom prints. A choice of quality made to guarantee substantiality and durability for the photos, particularly suitable for the reproduction of black and white images, bringing out the best of the Henkin brothers important artistic heritage.
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