Along the Banks of the Volga River

Masterpieces of the Russian photography from the second half of the 19th century
in the collection of the National Library of Russia in Saint Petersburg.

The photographs by Semen Felzer also captured the technical innovations of the time - steamships that were in use in the region of Kazan. Like Karelin, the artist obviously admired these machines. He made a "portrait" of each "beauty", which demonstrates not only the impressive technical capabilities but also a bright individual appearance. Steamships, longboats, even very prosaic dredging machines are shown in the best perspective in the centre of a photograph. The vessels seem to fascinate the viewer. So utilitarian photographs turn into a succession of interesting designer projects that have aesthetical value and vividly characterize their epoch.

In addition to steamers and railroads, the construction of bridges became essential for the Volga's vital activity and made an outstanding contribution to the development of this major national water way. The photographic album The Alexander Bridge across the Volga (1875 - 1880) is a visual proof of this important process. The album was created by an unknown artist. For a long time, the Alexander Bridge was the longest in Europe and one of the biggest in world, and the photos give us precious information about it; they illustrate each stage of its construction.

Semen Felzer The Steamer Vostok. 1886	Evgeny Vishnyakov. A Mill on the Spring. 1892
Evgeny Vishnyakov The Volga River near Rzhev. 1892	Evgeny Vishnyakov. The Lake of Sterzh. 1892