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A Woman Finds Her Husband, Kerch, Crimea

Dmitri Baltermants

Artwork Details

A Woman Finds Her Husband, Kerch, Crimea
January 1942, printed 2003
Dmitri Baltermants
gelatin silver print on paper
16 in x 20 in (40.64 cm x 50.8 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James Agah, Class of 1989 (BBA)
2012/2.68

Description

Subject Matter:

In this photograph, three heavily bundled figures—two women and one man—stand in a barren field littered with dead bodies, evidently victims of a recent battle. One woman, who occupies the exact center of the photograph, recognizes one of the fallen soldiers as her husband. While her two compatriots are expressionless, this woman’s face is a whir of grief: not only are her features contorted, but the camera itself is also out of focus in precisely this area. This image forms part of Baltermants’s larger project as an official photographer to the Kremlin, which, spread across numerous portfolios, aimed to document scenes from the Soviet Union’s fight against Nazi Germany during World War II (1939-1945), known in the USSR as the Great Patriotic War.

Physical Description:

Two women and a man stand over a pile of dead bodies; one woman is visibly in a state of distress. 

Usage Rights:

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