853
in Brazil in 1868. Leuzinger won silver medals at Bra-
zilian exhibitions (1866 and 1873) and his works were
shown at the International Exhibitions in Vienna (1873)
and Antwerp (1885), and the Exposition Universelle in
Paris (1867 and 1887), where his panoramic view of
Rio taken from Cobras Island won honorable mention
in 1867. Casa Leuzinger left the photography business
in 1873 and its founder died in Rio in 1892.
Sabrina Gledhill
LEVITSKY, SERGEY LVOVICH
(1819–1898)
Professional photographer
Sergey Lvovich Levitsky was born in Moscow in
1819 to a rich family. He was the cousin of Hertsen,
the writer and outstanding public fi gure. He was born
Lvov-Lvitsky but then changed his name to Levitsky.
At his parent’s request, Levitsky entered the school of
law at Moscow State University, and graduated in 1839
becoming an offi cial in the Ministry of Home affairs in
St. Petersburg.
In 1843, Levitsky joined a research group com-
missioned to investigate the phenomenon of mineral
springs in the Caucasus. During that period, he met U.
Fritshe, an associate of the chemistry department at the
Emperor’s Academy of Sciences and the fi rst Russian
researcher dealing with the process of photography ac-
cording to Talbot’s technology. (Fritshe made his fi rst
photographs on the 23 May 1839). Levitsky having
already bought a camera with a lens manufactured by
French optician Chevalier, was interested in daguerreo-
type photography. On returning to St. Petersburg in
1844 Levitsky sent Chevalier his daguerreotypes with
views of Pyatigorsk, Kislovodsk and other places in the
Caucus. It was one of the fi rst series of photographic
landscapes taken in Russia. Later that year Levitsky
retired and traveled abroad.
During Levitsky’s visit to the Italian cities of Rome
and Vena, he became acquainted with Senior Voigtlander
and developed a friendship with him, eventually buying
him a new lens for his camera. While in Rome, Levitsky
took photographs of Russian painters and of the Russian
writer Gogol, in Perro’s studio, which is now believed
to be the only portrait of this great personality.
In 1845, Levitsky took a course in chemistry and
physics at the Sorbonne in Paris and met the leading
daguerreotypists, including Daguerre, Charles Che-
valier, Claude Félix Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor, and
others. In 1849, Chevalier requested several large size
daguerreotypes from Levitsky, who then when the works
were fi nished, displayed them at an exhibition in Paris
to illustrate how his lens contributed to the composition
of photographs. The talent of Levitsky combined with
Chevalier’s innovative lens won them the gold medal
at the exhibition.
After the French revolution of 1848, having lost
most of his estate, Levitsky moved to St. Petersburg
and established himself as a professional photographer.
In October of 1849, he opened a studio on the Nevsky
Prospekt, opposite the Kazansky Cathedral. According
to his contemporaries, his studio was one of the most
fashionable studios of the city and generated great
popularity among the aristocracy, writers, and musi-
cians. This was partly because Levitsky never stopped
improving the technology of photography, and during
the 1850s, he developed his use of wet collodion. His
works never failed to demonstrate the highest level of
technique and artistry.
During the middle of the nineteenth century, Levitsky
became among the fi rst photographers to start creating
psychological photo-portraits, a prominent genre of por-
trait in Russia at this time. The Russian artists working
with these types of portraits concentrated primarily on
the personality and the spiritual life of the sitter. The
artists believed it was possible to penetrate into the
soul of a person and this belief founded itself not only
in Russian painting, but in literature, music, theatreLEVITSKY, SERGEY LVOVICH
Levitsky, Sergey Lvovich. Alexander Hertsen, 1861.
Private Collection: Alexei Loginov” Private Collection: Alexei
Loginov.