2575 - Jacobi, Lotte. Portrait of a Scholar in Uzbekistan. (Usta Shirin Murodov?). Gelatin silver print. Vintage. Signed "Lotte Jacobi" in the lower right corner. Circa 1932/33. Sheet dimensions: 25 x 19.5 cm.

Jacobi, Lotte. Portrait of a Scholar in Uzbekistan. (Usta Shirin Murodov?). Gelatin silver print. Vintage. Signed "Lotte Jacobi" in the lower right corner. Circa 1932/33. Sheet dimensions: 25 x 19.5 cm. University of New Hampshire, Lotte Jacobi Collection 1317. - The scholar portrayed may be Usta Shirin Murodov (1879–1957), the Soviet-Uzbek artist who, among other things, helped decorate the summer residence of the last emir of Bukhara. - The German-American portrait and documentary photographer Lotte Jacobi (1896–1990) traveled through the Soviet Union between October 1932 and January 1933, visiting Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well. In December 1932, she was in the oasis city of Bukhara, where Usta Shirin Murodov was active. During her trip through Central Asia, Jacobi documented everyday life, architecture, industrialization, and artists in the region under early Soviet rule. - The portrait, taken from a low angle, of the scholar with a short white beard, round glasses, and a turban, looking down at the photographer’s camera, is part of Jacobi’s series of artist portraits, which are characterized by psychological depth, the absence of rigid poses, and a masterful interplay of light and shadow. - Edges show minimal wear; faint crease in the upper right corner. #