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Ohannes Kurkdjian (1851-1903) – Ruin Photography in the Service of Romantic Nationalism Item Info

Kurkdjian, image 1 of 8
1. View along the walls to the 'Lion Gate'.
Kurkdjian, image 2 of 8
2. View of the city walls and the Igadzor valley.
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3. Facade of the hall of the Holy Apostles Church (11–13th centuries).
Kurkdjian, image 4 of 8
4. Mosque of Minuchihr, interior seen from the southwest corner.
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5. The Ani Cathedral (11th century), from the southwest.
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6. The interior of the Ani Cathedral (11th century), looking southeast.
Kurkdjian, image 7 of 8
7. A view of the gorge, the ruined medieval bridge over the Akhurian River,...
Kurkdjian, image 8 of 8
8. The Church of St. Gregory of Tigran Honents (13th century).
Ohannes Kurkdjian, <em>Ruines d’Arménie Ani</em> stereoscopic album, Amsterdam, c. 1880, Petőfi Museum of Literature, Budapest, March-April, 2026, exhibition poster.
Ohannes Kurkdjian, Ruines d’Arménie Ani stereoscopic album, Amsterdam, c. 1880, Petőfi Museum of Literature,...
Description:
Born in Kyurin, Vilayet of Sebaste, Ottoman Empire, Ohannes Kurkdjian settled in Tiflis (Tbilisi) and Yerevan. In the late 1870s, after Ani became part of the Russian Empire, Kurdkjain visited the ruined city and was the first to photograph it, assisted by Aram Vruyr. Around 1880, Ohannes published an album of his photographs in French and in Armenian (rather than in Russian), titled Ruines d’Arménie Ani (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). This album contains some forty stereoscopic pairs of photographs. Allegedly, the Russian authorities banned the circulation of this album, suspecting that it fanned nationalist hopes among Armenians. Some of these photographs were reprinted in London’s The Graphic on September 26, 1885. They were also included in the “Vue de Caucase” series shortly after, apparently sold for a more touristic use. Soon after photographing Ani, Kurkdjian left the Russian Empire, lived in Europe and eventually settled on the Island of Java, current-day Indonesia, where he created a highly successful and long-lived photographic studio.
Subjects:
Ohannes Kurkdjian Aram Vruyr Photography Ani (Turkey)
Citation:

"Ohannes Kurkdjian (1851-1903) – Ruin Photography in the Service of Romantic Nationalism", Ani, Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO), /items/ani_002.html

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