Canson Infinity Baryta Prestige paper is used to print photographs by Henkin brothers, pioneers of street photography


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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Henkin Brothers Archive Association (HBAA)

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