Karl Bulla
Encyclopedia
Carl Oswald Bulla or Karl Karlovich Bulla was a prominent Russian photographer, often referred as the "father of photo-reporting in Russia".
. His exact birth year is unclear with some references citing 1853 then others citing 1855. In 1865 the adventurous boy ran away from his family to St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
. The reasons prompting the boy to choose Russia out of all possible destinations are as yet unknown.
After arriving in St. Petersburg, Bulla started to work as a delivery-boy in the firm Dupant that made and sold photography supplies. Soon his responsibilities included handmaking (coating and sensitizing) of the photographic glass negative plates. At the age of twenty Bulla opened a small factory producing "momentary dry bromine
-gelatin
plates". Buying the readymade photographic materials was much more convenient than handmaking their own and soon Bulla's plates became popular, selling not only in St. Petersburg but across the whole Russian Empire.
In February 1876 Bulla requested his naturalization and in July 1876 became a citizen of the Russian Empire.
In 1875 Bulla opened his first Photographic Studio on the Garden Street
, 61 and soon became a fashionable photographer. For ten years he was working there doing pavilion portrait photography. Then in 1886 he received the permit from the St. Petersburg Police allowing him to take pictures everywhere. While he did not abandon studio photography (in fact he opened two more studios: on the Catherine Canal and on Nevsky Prospekt
) but became more in more involved into photography of city life.
At the end of the 19th century newspaper printing technology allowed the publishing of photographs. In 1894 Russian Department of Post and Telegraphs also allowed use of postcard
s. Both events significantly increased the demand for photographs. In 1895 Bulla stopped his production of photographic supplies and put all his energy into photography. In his advertisement he wrote "The oldest photographer-illustrator Karl Bulla photographs for the illustrated magazines anything and anywhere without limits from the landscape or the building, indoor or outdoor day or night at the artificial light".
Indeed he photographed everything and anything: Life of Tsar family and assemblies of anti-government intelligentsia
, stars of scene and manual workers, palaces and hostels for homeless, even such exotics as gay parties. Bulla was on the editorial board of many magazines including popular Niva. In 1910s the annual revenue of the firm "Bulla and Sons" reached 250 thousand roubles.
In 1916 Bulla passed the management of the firm "Bulla and sons" to his sons Alexander and Victor and moved to Ösel Island (currently Saaremaa
, Estonia
). He lived a quiet life there, photographing the local ethnographic material and teaching Estonian boys the basics of photography until his death in 1929.
and World War I
. At that time, before the invention of the telephoto lens
, photography was a very difficult and dangerous mission.
Later Victor Bulla made photographs of the October Revolution
and the Russian Civil War
. He was appointed the Chief Photographer of the Leningrad Soviet. He took a lot of photographs of Vladimir Lenin
and other bolsheviks. In 1938 during the Great Purge
he was arrested, accused of being a German Spy and shot.
The life of Andrey Bulla also ended tragically. He was arrested in the early 1930s and sent to White Sea – Baltic Canal labor camp
s. He returned after five years and soon died.
and are a favorite source of illustrations of life in Saint Petersburg.
In 2003 there was a large exhibition of Bulla's prints celebrating 300 years of Saint Petersburg and 150th birthday of Karl Bulla (by the 1853 version). People of Saint Petersburg put a bronze sculpture of Karl Bulla on Malaya Sadovaya Street
near the former studio of Karl Bulla. The sculpture shows a photographer with an ancient camera and an umbrella photographing a bulldog
.
Biography
Carl Oswald Bulla was born in Leobschütz in PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
. His exact birth year is unclear with some references citing 1853 then others citing 1855. In 1865 the adventurous boy ran away from his family to St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. The reasons prompting the boy to choose Russia out of all possible destinations are as yet unknown.
After arriving in St. Petersburg, Bulla started to work as a delivery-boy in the firm Dupant that made and sold photography supplies. Soon his responsibilities included handmaking (coating and sensitizing) of the photographic glass negative plates. At the age of twenty Bulla opened a small factory producing "momentary dry bromine
Bromine
Bromine ") is a chemical element with the symbol Br, an atomic number of 35, and an atomic mass of 79.904. It is in the halogen element group. The element was isolated independently by two chemists, Carl Jacob Löwig and Antoine Jerome Balard, in 1825–1826...
-gelatin
Gelatin
Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle , flavorless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing. Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar...
plates". Buying the readymade photographic materials was much more convenient than handmaking their own and soon Bulla's plates became popular, selling not only in St. Petersburg but across the whole Russian Empire.
In February 1876 Bulla requested his naturalization and in July 1876 became a citizen of the Russian Empire.
In 1875 Bulla opened his first Photographic Studio on the Garden Street
Garden Street
Sadovaya Street or Garden Street is a major thoroughfare in Saint Petersburg, Russia, passing through the historic city center.From east to west, it begins near the Field of Mars, crosses the Moika River at the First Sadovy Bridge, then passes over Spassky Island, the Kryukov Canal , and Pokrovsky...
, 61 and soon became a fashionable photographer. For ten years he was working there doing pavilion portrait photography. Then in 1886 he received the permit from the St. Petersburg Police allowing him to take pictures everywhere. While he did not abandon studio photography (in fact he opened two more studios: on the Catherine Canal and on Nevsky Prospekt
Nevsky Prospekt
Nevsky Avenue |Prospekt]]) is the main street in the city of St. Petersburg, Russia. Planned by Peter the Great as beginning of the road to Novgorod and Moscow, the avenue runs from the Admiralty to the Moscow Railway Station and, after making a turn at Vosstaniya Square, to the Alexander...
) but became more in more involved into photography of city life.
At the end of the 19th century newspaper printing technology allowed the publishing of photographs. In 1894 Russian Department of Post and Telegraphs also allowed use of postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
s. Both events significantly increased the demand for photographs. In 1895 Bulla stopped his production of photographic supplies and put all his energy into photography. In his advertisement he wrote "The oldest photographer-illustrator Karl Bulla photographs for the illustrated magazines anything and anywhere without limits from the landscape or the building, indoor or outdoor day or night at the artificial light".
Indeed he photographed everything and anything: Life of Tsar family and assemblies of anti-government intelligentsia
Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
, stars of scene and manual workers, palaces and hostels for homeless, even such exotics as gay parties. Bulla was on the editorial board of many magazines including popular Niva. In 1910s the annual revenue of the firm "Bulla and Sons" reached 250 thousand roubles.
In 1916 Bulla passed the management of the firm "Bulla and sons" to his sons Alexander and Victor and moved to Ösel Island (currently Saaremaa
Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
). He lived a quiet life there, photographing the local ethnographic material and teaching Estonian boys the basics of photography until his death in 1929.
The sons
After the retirement of Karl Bulla his firm was managed by his sons, Andrey and Viktor. Viktor Bulla was a notable photo-reporter in his own right. He was the author of a series on the Russo-Japanese WarRusso-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. At that time, before the invention of the telephoto lens
Telephoto lens
In photography and cinematography, a telephoto lens is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a telephoto group that extends the light path to create a long-focus...
, photography was a very difficult and dangerous mission.
Later Victor Bulla made photographs of the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
and the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. He was appointed the Chief Photographer of the Leningrad Soviet. He took a lot of photographs of Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
and other bolsheviks. In 1938 during the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
he was arrested, accused of being a German Spy and shot.
The life of Andrey Bulla also ended tragically. He was arrested in the early 1930s and sent to White Sea – Baltic Canal labor camp
Labor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
s. He returned after five years and soon died.
The archive
In 1935 the son of Karl, Victor Bulla donated to the State Archive of Leningrad District 132,683 negatives of Bulla's photographs. The archive grew and now consists of more than 200,000 negatives of works by Karl Bulla and his sons. All the photographs in the archive are in the public domainPublic domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
and are a favorite source of illustrations of life in Saint Petersburg.
In 2003 there was a large exhibition of Bulla's prints celebrating 300 years of Saint Petersburg and 150th birthday of Karl Bulla (by the 1853 version). People of Saint Petersburg put a bronze sculpture of Karl Bulla on Malaya Sadovaya Street
Malaya Sadovaya Street
Malaya Sadovaya Street is a pedestrian street of cafes, terraces, and fountains in the heart of St. Petersburg. It runs between Italyanskaya Street and the Nevsky Prospect. At about , it is St...
near the former studio of Karl Bulla. The sculpture shows a photographer with an ancient camera and an umbrella photographing a bulldog
Bulldog
Bulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...
.