Iran

Under the title “Iran – Portrait of a Country”, the Rietberg Museum is showing an exhibition dedicated to the photographer Antoin Sevruguin (1851–1933). Born in Iran to Armenian parents and raised in Tbilisi, Georgia, he later worked as a professional photographer in Tehran - and saw himself as Iranian. Nevertheless, today he, the most famous early photographer in Iran, is considered a “foreigner” by most experts in and outside Iran. According to the opinion, he photographed the country and its people with a “foreign,” an “orientalist” look. Does this mean that Sevruguin only created “European” images? In the end, is it unthinkable that a “Secondo” like him had an “indigenous,” an “Iranian” perspective? These questions – which have a lot to do with prejudices and categorizations and are more relevant today than ever – are at the center of this “portrait”. The exhibition shows 63 photographs from the Rietberg Museum's holdings and is accompanied by a brochure in German, French and English.