Before the Revolution of 1917, the photographer Grigory Vasilyevich Safontsev captured mainly the elite of Borisovka: representatives of the merchant class, intellectuals, members of the volost administration, artists of the local theater and clergymen. The archives contain both group photographs, including family ones, and individual portraits.
Photo studios of Moscow and St. Petersburg had their own rules, according to which the person being photographed chose one or another pose and maintained a more or less strict facial expression. Certain requirements, on which the quality of the picture depended, remained unchanged in the provincial studio. For example, models were recommended to wear dark clothing made of fabric that does not produce glare. At the same time, the lack of pomp gives Safontsev’s works liveliness and spontaneity.
The priest in the photo presented in the exhibition looks away thoughtfully, his hands rest on his knees. Potted flowers are used as decorations. The portrayed was a priest of St. Michael the Archangel’s Church, the oldest in Borisovka.
The first wooden church, consecrated in memory of the miracle of Michael the Archangel in Chonae, was erected there in 1698, under Abraham, Metropolitan of Belgorod and Oboyansk. Perhaps it was built thanks to Colonel Mikhail Yakovlevich Kobelev, the founder and first owner of the sloboda.
In 1744, the church was rebuilt, but remained wooden. It stood for more than half a century, but in 1804, a stone church was erected next to the dilapidated building, which was designed by the architect Pyotr Masalov. The names of the contractors are also known — the “outsider peasants” Pyotr Bozhenov and Martyn Vorobyov. Parishioners donated money for the construction, sources also mention “good deeds” of benefactors.
In 1811, the completed church was consecrated in honor of the Synaxis of Michael and all the Bodiless Powers of Heaven. By the second half of the 19th century, the parish had grown so much that a new reconstruction was required. The ensemble was complemented by a refectory and a bell tower. The tower was decorated with a clock with chimes, which was made by the Borisovka clockmaker Vasily Semyonovich Bezsalov.
Photo studios of Moscow and St. Petersburg had their own rules, according to which the person being photographed chose one or another pose and maintained a more or less strict facial expression. Certain requirements, on which the quality of the picture depended, remained unchanged in the provincial studio. For example, models were recommended to wear dark clothing made of fabric that does not produce glare. At the same time, the lack of pomp gives Safontsev’s works liveliness and spontaneity.
The priest in the photo presented in the exhibition looks away thoughtfully, his hands rest on his knees. Potted flowers are used as decorations. The portrayed was a priest of St. Michael the Archangel’s Church, the oldest in Borisovka.
The first wooden church, consecrated in memory of the miracle of Michael the Archangel in Chonae, was erected there in 1698, under Abraham, Metropolitan of Belgorod and Oboyansk. Perhaps it was built thanks to Colonel Mikhail Yakovlevich Kobelev, the founder and first owner of the sloboda.
In 1744, the church was rebuilt, but remained wooden. It stood for more than half a century, but in 1804, a stone church was erected next to the dilapidated building, which was designed by the architect Pyotr Masalov. The names of the contractors are also known — the “outsider peasants” Pyotr Bozhenov and Martyn Vorobyov. Parishioners donated money for the construction, sources also mention “good deeds” of benefactors.
In 1811, the completed church was consecrated in honor of the Synaxis of Michael and all the Bodiless Powers of Heaven. By the second half of the 19th century, the parish had grown so much that a new reconstruction was required. The ensemble was complemented by a refectory and a bell tower. The tower was decorated with a clock with chimes, which was made by the Borisovka clockmaker Vasily Semyonovich Bezsalov.
