Mary Paraskeva

Mary Paraskeva (Greek: Μαίρη Παρασκευά; née Gripari (Γρυπάρη), 1882–1951) was a Greek amateur photographer; her photographic legacy from the beginning of the 20th century is probably the earliest known by a Greek woman.^[1]

Biography

Born on the island of Mykonos, Paraskeva was the daughter of shipping magnate Nicolas Gripari who had a prosperous export business in Odessa and a large estate at Baranovka in northwestern Ukraine. Paraskeva, who married the Greek engineer Nikos Paraskevas from Alexandria in 1903, started photographing from her late teens or early twenties.^[1]

Photographs

Paraskeva's glass positives or lantern slides, most of them stereoscopic plates, include photographs of Greece, Egypt, France, Venice and the Alps. While they do not reflect the latest technical developments available, they are remarkably well preserved and of a high technical quality. They are also of considerable historical importance, especially in documenting life in Crimea before the Russian Revolution.^[1]

Many of Paraskeva's images were taken in the company of her friend Argine Salvago (1883–1972), also a photographer. Salvago's shots often include Paraskeva's remarkably contemporary-looking figure.^[2] The photographs of both Mary Paraskeva and Argine Salvago were rediscovered in the late 1990s.^[3] They were first revealed by Maria Karavia in her book Odissos, i lismonimeni patrida (Odessa, the forgotten homeland), Agra Editions, Athens 1998.^[4]

Digitization

Most of the images taken by Mary Paraskeva have been donated by her great-nephew Petros Griparis to the Benaki Museum in Athens, where there are plans to exhibit them as digital prints.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Stathatos, John (9 January 2011). "Photographers > Mary Paraskeva". Luminous-Lint. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
^ Stathatos, John (16 July 1999). "New Books on Greek Photography [First published as 'Pioneers of National Pride']". Times Literary Supplement. Archived from the original on 28 November 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2013 – via stathatos.net.
^ Lenman, Robin (2008). "Mary Paraskeva". Oxford Companion to the Photograph. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199551989. OCLC 231883615. Archived from the original on 9 March 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2013 – via answers.com.
^ Stathatos, John (2000). "A Conditional Presence: Women landscape photographers in Europe". In Wells, Liz; Newton, Kate; Fehily, Catherine (eds.). Shifting Horizons: Women’s Landscape Photography Now. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 9781860646355. OCLC 47163149. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via stathatos.net.

[stathatos-1] Stathatos, John (9 January 2011). "Photographers > Mary Paraskeva". Luminous-Lint. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2013.

[2] Stathatos, John (16 July 1999). "New Books on Greek Photography [First published as 'Pioneers of National Pride']". Times Literary Supplement. Archived from the original on 28 November 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2013 – via stathatos.net.

[3] Lenman, Robin (2008). "Mary Paraskeva". Oxford Companion to the Photograph. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199551989. OCLC 231883615. Archived from the original on 9 March 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2013 – via answers.com.

[4] Stathatos, John (2000). "A Conditional Presence: Women landscape photographers in Europe". In Wells, Liz; Newton, Kate; Fehily, Catherine (eds.). Shifting Horizons: Women’s Landscape Photography Now. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 9781860646355. OCLC 47163149. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via stathatos.net.

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