Щемящее чувство вызывают загадочные фотографии румынского фотографа Costică Ascinte, найденные случайно в подсобной помещении в Lalomita County Museum.
Целая эпоха с 1925 по 1984 год попала в его объектив: и Вторая Мировая война, и последующий коммунистический режим, оказавший негативное влияние на экономику страны.
После смерти фотографа в 1984 году коллекция была утеряна. Цезарь Попеску обнаружил ее в подсобной помещении в Lalomita County Museum и в ноябре прошлого года начал работу над оцифровкой фотографических пластин, ему осталось оцифровать еще 4000 экземпляров.
Хоть фотографии и черно-белые, но они тем не менее очень живые. «На фотографиях изображены здания в Слобозии, которых вы сейчас уже не увидите», -говорит Попеску. Одно из его любимых изображений это фотография охотника с “дрофой” – птицей, которая сейчас находится на грани вымирания.
Посмотрев на фото, можно получить некое представление о культуре и традициях, от которых почти ничего не осталось, -например, традиции фотографироваться на похоронах всей семьей. «Такой традиции больше нет ни в одной стране, только в Румынии», -говорит Попеску. На фотографиях также изображены дети, играющие в снегу, выпивающие вместе мужчины, семьи за работой, свадьбы, сцены на рынках, танцы.
«На фото изображены как известные люди того времени – например, Николя Малакса – владелец фабрики в Бухаресте, так и обычные граждане: школьники, коллеги фотографа, его друзья. И все они по-своему прекрасны».
Попеску говорит, что не знает, что еще обнаружит в этой коллекции. Он уже нашел портреты королевы Марии и короля Кароля второго. «Кто знает, какие еще сокровища мне предстоит обнаружить? Любой факт, который может пролить свет на историю, очень важен. Я уверен, что в будущем историкам эти снимки покажутся такими же интересными, как и мне». (с)
Tradition and trend: A woman poses in an elaborately patterned blouse (left) traditional to her Romanian region in 1939 while another sits for Costică Ascinte to take a formal portrait with her fox stole carefully positioned about her shoulders
Moment of fun: These women enjoy sledding in the winter of 1940, just a few months before Romania was forced to join the Axis powers in WWII
Bride and groom: A young Romanian woman poses in her exquisite lace wedding dress with a huge train and veil while another poses with her family in a simpler wedding outfit.
Faces of the nation: Two young men pose for Ascinte who was one of the most famous photographers in Romania during the 20th century
A young boy poses in Ascinte’s studio (left) in traditional dress, offering a salute to the camera. He looks far more comfortable than this girl (right) who appears furious to have to stand for a portrait. Dangling from her fingers is a little bag with a motif of two dancers on the side
Cultural moments: Ascinte’s photography captured the customs and culture of the Romanian nation during most of the 20th century. Here, a jazz group from the city of Slobozia, where Ascinte was based, is photographed in 1943
Two portraits from 1940: In the left a woman poses solo in a summer dress and light shoes. But the shot on the right reflects the coldness of Romanian winters where a mother stands with her child, who is bundled up in a warm coat a muff and hat. The woman has elaborately coiffed hair, a fur trimmed coat and well-made shoes
Old traditions: It used to be customary in Romania to be photographed with the deceased person at a funeral, a tradition that Ascinte photographed here
Decaying before his eyes: The images were stored in boxes open to the elements and Cezar Popescu, who is restoring and digitising them, is working to save as many as he can before they are destroyed
Costica Ascinte is one of the most important Romanian photographers. He captured life in the troubled nation in all of its weirdness
Strike a pose: Ascinte’s portraits capture a whole society, from this young girl (left) staring purposefully at the camera from under a heavy fringe to an older woman (right) with her chin propped artfully on one hand and her face framed by a hat and veil
Farm life: Ascinte photographed all aspects of Romanian life from 1925 through to his death in 1984. Here he shows a couple with their livestock
Portraits of the nation: The photographs depict the faces of people from all walks of life. There is no record of who most of the people in the images are
Old world style: A glamorous Romanian woman poses thoughtfully for a portrait by the photographer
Eaten by time: Cezar Popescu is hard at work restoring and digitising the images before they are corrupted, like this image of a Romanian working party
All human life: The people in the pictures are fascinating and elusive, from the severe dress and expression of the woman on the left to the coquettish pose and dress of the lady on the right
A portrait of winter: This badly damaged image of a family includes a child sitting on a sleigh, a woman warmly clad in a huge fur coat and a man holding his dog, pride-of-place at the centre
Joyful day: A wedding party poses to have their photo taken, unfortunately the bride and groom look to be the least happy people in the group
This picture (left) is one of Popescu’s favourites. It depicts a hunter with a brace of Great Bustard, a bird that is now almost extinct in Romania, taken on April 16, 1938. The images also record fashions throughout the 20th century and feature such images as this woman in polka dots (right) and a neat hat
Sewing circle: These women are sewing together, perhaps to make money. You can see the cataracts in the eyes of the woman front and centre, perhaps due to the focus on sewing
Romania’s children: Both of these toddlers smile happily for the camera, one holding a little bag, the other very warmly clothed in jumper, gloves and elaborate hat
Troubled past: Costica Ascinte captured Romania in his photographers during a very turbulent century for the nation. Their involvement in WWII was complicated and damaging to the nation and they suffered under oppressive Communist rule for decades
Severe: This wedding photo took a serious turn, as Costica Ascinte captured the couple and, presumably the parents of the bride or groom
Beauty: A woman poses in a long patterned dress with head scarf and chunky sandals
Factory magnate Nicolae Malaxa is pictured in this photograph (fourth from the left). The very controversial figure was close to King Carol II and was one of the most important men in Romanian manufacturing
Village life: A woman shows off her elaborate traditional dress (left) while four men have a standing picnic of bread, cake and beer
Deep mourning: Costica Ascinte captured moments from the everyday lives of Romanian people, including the grief at this young woman’s death
Sisters: These women pose together for photographer Costica Ascinte. Their photo is one of 1,000 that have been restored and digitised by Popescu in the last three months
From all over: Parents brought their children to Ascinte’s studio, which was the only professional studio in the region for several decades, in order to have their photographs taken by him
Celebration: A group of people pose in the countryside and hold their glasses up in a toast
Children of Romania: These children – possibly a brother and sister – pose in the same setting with a chair used as a prop. In the right photograph the little girl holds a flower between her fingers
A group of all ages gathers for a photo – this might be a picture of school students with their teachers. The children are wearing a range of different traditional outfits
Many of the photographs show women posing in their stylish outdoor coats and hats. Few of them are smiling. Some of the images were very badly damaged (right)
Street party: The reason for this large gathering is lost in the mists of time but the image conveys something of the atmosphere of village life in Romania
Спасибо, Натали Руссу.
