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31/1/2003

Chronicling Faith

Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown

Maksim Dmitriev and the Renaissance of Orthodox Monasticism in Late Imperial Russia'



Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) will present Chronicling Faith: Maksim Dmitriev and the Renaissance of Orthodox Monasticism in Late Imperial Russia, an exhibition of approximately thirty modern prints made from the Russian photographer's original negatives. The exhibition will open on February 1, and it will run through June 15, 2003.


Chronicling Faith: An Overview

Maksim Dmitriev (1858-1948) attempted through his work to both record faithfully and comment critically on provincial life in late imperial Russia. Chronicling Faith offers an evocative portrayal of religious life among the Orthodox population of the Volga region centered on the city of Nizhnii Novgorod (about 250 miles east of Moscow) during the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries.

Chronicling Faith is part of "Teaching with Art," WCMA's series of exhibitions that support Williams College courses. This exhibition has been arranged by William G. Wagner, Brown Professor of History, in conjunction with his course 'Muscovy and the Russian Empire.'

"WCMA is first and foremost a teaching museum," says Director Linda Shearer. "When our exhibitions are organized in conjunction with courses at Williams College, we are realizing our mission to its full potential. By helping Bill Wagner to enhance his class, we are exposing students‹and all our visitors‹to rare material they would not have the opportunity to see elsewhere."


Maksim Dmitriev: An Important Historical Source

"Dmitriev was a pioneer in the development of photojournalism and the use of photography as a medium of social criticism," says Professor Wagner. "His work therefore reflects an important transitional moment in the history of Russian and European photography."

Through Dmitriev's photographs viewers encounter such phenomena as the remarkable renaissance of female monasticism and growth of religious pilgrimage, the stern face of the female monastic leadership, and the religious spectacle as well as social dynamic of icon processions. The photographs also provide a rare glimpse of the isolated Old Believer monastic communities that dotted the forests to the north and east of the Volga River.

"Dmitriev's work represents a valuable but elusive historical source for those trying to understand the role of religion and the relationship of women to Orthodoxy in Russia in the last decades before the Revolution," says Professor Wagner.


Related Lecture April 10

In combination with Chronicling Faith, Professor Wagner will give a public lecture on Thursday, April 10. His talk, "Exposing Realism: Maksim Dmitriev and the Photographic Depiction of Female Monastic Life in Late Imperial Russia," will begin at 4 p.m. at the museum.

This exhibition is drawn from the rich holdings of the Dmitriev collection at the State Archive of Nizhegorod Region. Chronicling Faith is organized by Professor Wagner with Stefanie Spray Jandl, Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Associate.

The Williams College Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free and the museum is wheelchair accessible.

Image:
Maksim Dmitriev (Russian, 1858-1948)
Eldress, Olenino Old Believer Convent, village of Olenino, Russia late 19th-early 20th century
Reproduced from the State Archive of Nizhegorod Region

Contact: Jonathan Cannon, Public Relations Coordinator

Williams College Museum of Art
15 Lawrence Hall Drive, Suite 2
Williamstown MA 01267
413.597.3178

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