Moisei Nappelbaum | Belarusian Jewish Museum

EVENT DETAILS

Where

National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus

When

21/07/2026 - 22/07/2026

Moisei Nappelbaum is one of the most significant names in the history of photography. The greatness of his talent is underscored by one simple fact: when the Blosheviks needed to present the image of the head of Soviet Russia to the world in 1918, it was Nappelbaum who was chosen to shoot the very first artistic portrait of Lenin.  

Nappelbaum entered the annals of world photography as a master of the artistic and psychological portrait, becoming the photographer of the Soviet cultural and political elite. He is considered the godfather of the photographic portrait, having created his own unique style. More than a thousand of his photographs, including portraits of Akhmatova, Blok, Gorky, Dzerzhynski, Esenin, Plekhanov, Wells, Pasternak, Meyerhold, Lenin, Sverdlov, Budyonny, and others, have entered the golden pool of art.

Nappelbaum was born in Minsk, where he opened his first portrait studio. In his quest for knowledge and experience, he traveled extensively: Smolensk, Moscow, Odessa, Vilno, Warsaw, New York, Pittsburg and other cities of the USA. His photo studio in Petrograd became a true artistic hub, attracting luminaries such as Akhmatova, Mandelshtam, Blok, and Gumilev. In 1935, Nappelbaum was awarded the title of the Honored Artist of the Republic, a unique case in the history of Soviet photography.

LABEL

A grand event dedicated to the master's 150th anniversary started in Minsk. For the first time in Belarus, originals of Nappelbaum's famous portraits were shown. The exhibition showcased personal documents and early works from the Minsk period from the collections of the National Historical Museum and the National Historical Archive of the Republic of Belarus, as well as Moisei Nappelbaum's personal camera.

This project is not only a hommage and reflection of a great master's art but also a mirror of the epoch, demonstrating the portraits of the creative minds in the fields of art, science and culture, and those who shaped the destinies of their time. It tells the story of who these people were, of their contributions to culture and science, and how their lives ultimately unfolded. The concept of the exhibition also echoes Nappelbaum's who belief that:

"a good portrait is a tantamount to an entire epoch"

«I am highly pleased that this anniversary is being celebrated in my Grandfather's Homeland, in Minsk, exactly where he started his life in art, where he gained experience, experimented in search of his own creative path… I hope that this Minsk Anniversary Exhibition of Moisei Nappelbaum will contribute a lot to World culture».

— Ekaterina Tsarenkova, granddaughter of Moisei Nappelbaum (Hamburg)