Anastasia Khoroshilova Moscow, Russia, b. 1978

For Anastasia Khoroshilova’s Russkie series, she wanted to document the variety of people in Russia who “arrived on the land of the Russian state from various other countries to live together in conditions shaped by history.” As observed by art theorist and critic Viktor Misiano, this social documentary effort by Khoroshilova to photograph a diverse group of people recalls portraits by August Sander to document every kind of profession in Germany. Russkie #43 depicts a man in uniform in the snow on a black horse. The largely white background places a strong emphasis on the man and horse and recalls the long tradition of equestrian paintings and sculptures of the 18^th and 19^th centuries. In these portraits, members of the ruling class would depict themselves on horses to show their power and dominance as in the famous example by Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps at Great St. Bernard Pass, 20 May 1800 (1803).