Accession Number2012/2.68
TitleA Woman Finds Her Husband, Kerch, Crimea
Artist(s)Dmitri BaltermantsArtist NationalityRussian (culture or style)Object Creation DateJanuary 1942, printed 2003Medium & Supportgelatin silver print on paperDimensions 16 in x 20 in (40.64 cm x 50.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. James Agah, Class of 1989 (BBA)Subject matterIn this photograph, three heavily bundled figures—two women and one man—stand in a barren field littered with dead bodies, evidently victims of a recent battle. One woman, who occupies the exact center of the photograph, recognizes one of the fallen soldiers as her husband. While her two compatriots are expressionless, this woman’s face is a whir of grief: not only are her features contorted, but the camera itself is also out of focus in precisely this area. This image forms part of Baltermants’s larger project as an official photographer to the Kremlin, which, spread across numerous portfolios, aimed to document scenes from the Soviet Union’s fight against Nazi Germany during World War II (1939-1945), known in the USSR as the Great Patriotic War.
Physical DescriptionTwo women and a man stand over a pile of dead bodies; one woman is visibly in a state of distress.
Primary Object ClassificationPhotographCollection AreaPhotographyRightsIf you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit
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Keywords
dead (people)
gelatin silver prints
grief
journalistic photography
war photography
women (female humans)