Yarovoff, Nicolás

Russian artist (1883-1958). After studying photography at the Vienna Photographic Institute, he settled in Moscow, where he worked as a portrait photographer for the Imperial Court of Russia. After the 1917 Revolution, he dedicated himself to teaching, designing programs, and organizing photography courses at the School of Applied Arts. In 1924, he traveled to Uruguay and established his photographic studio on 18 de Julio Avenue and Minas Street, later moving to Sarandí 512 in Montevideo. In the 1930s, he became involved with groups of amateur photographers first gathered at the Eduardo Bruzzone Optics and later at the Photographic Section of the Ateneo de Montevideo, where he gave lectures on technical aspects of portrait photography. He participated in the formation of the Uruguayan Photo Club in 1940 and served on its board, remaining connected to the institution until the end of his career. He took part in numerous national and regional exhibitions of artistic photography. He was known for his technique in creating portraits, using what he called the "magic lens" to soften facial lines, resulting in slightly blurry images that he then retouched to give them a painterly style. In this sense, he referred to himself as an "artist-photographer," a personal label that became part of the promotion of his studio. In the mid-1950s, he closed his studio, put his archive up for sale, and distanced himself from the Photo Club.