Landschap met meer en bootje ("La route de Rescht"), Iran c. 1880 - 1910

This landscape photograph of the road to Rescht in Iran was taken by Antoine Sevruguin, a photographer of Armenian-Georgian heritage, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Note how Sevruguin carefully stages this seemingly natural scene. In a wide, panoramic composition, the eye is drawn to the boat in the foreground, carefully placed as if waiting for passengers. The scene suggests an unspoiled landscape, yet this romantic vision of Iran obscures the complex social realities of the time. Sevruguin's photographs were popular with European tourists and the Qajar elite, who sought exotic and picturesque views of Persia. His studio also catered to a growing demand for ethnographic images, reflecting the Western fascination with the "Orient." To truly understand the image we would need to look at his archive which now resides in various museums and private collections to reveal how photography participated in shaping perceptions of Iran, both at home and abroad.