Alexander Roinashvili ( ka, ალექსანდრე როინაშვილი; also known by his Russified name, Alexander Solomonovich Roinov, ; 1846–1898) was the first Georgian

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

. He is known for his photos of the

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Common meanings *Anything from the Caucasus region or related to it ** Ethnic groups in the Caucasus ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus re ...

landscapes and portraits of contemporary Georgian intellectuals. Ilia_Chavchavadze_by_Alexander_Roinashvili

Born in the mountainous community of

Dusheti Dusheti () is a town in Georgia (country), Georgia, the administrative center of Dusheti Municipality, in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti mkhare, region, 54 km northeast of the nation's capital of Tbilisi. History Dusheti is on both banks of the small ...

, east Georgia, then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, Roinashvili took photographic classes at the Khlamov studio in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. He began his career as a photographer in Tiflis in 1865 and soon set up his own studio. Closely associated with the Georgian national movement, he was involved in documenting cultural heritage in Georgia and organized a mobile museum of photography which toured across the Caucasus and Russia proper.Henisch, Heinz K. & Henisch, Bridget Ann (1994), ''The Photographic Experience, 1839-1914'', pp. 348-9. Penn State Press, .

References

External links

A. Roinashvili's photogallery
The Georgian Museum of Photography 1846 births 1898 deaths Burials at Didube Pantheon Photographers from Georgia (country) 19th-century photographers from the Russian Empire {{Georgia-bio-stub