The Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War (1917–23) brought drastic political and economic change, as well as great social and cultural transformation. Old ways of seeing and thinking were to be replaced, and radical artists ushered in a state-supported artistic revolution that was just as bold. In 1921 Alexander Rodchenko abandoned painting and by 1924 had embraced photography as the medium for this new era. Photography was technologically modern and capable of representing the world through an ever-mobile and industrial lens. Rodchenko pioneered techniques in photomontage, explored his subjects using dynamic angles—“worm’s eye” and “bird’s eye” views—and produced jarring close-up  portraits.

Taken early on a holiday morning from the balcony of the artist’s apartment, this photograph exhibits the sort of uncommon perspective that Rodchenko believed could help shape a new type of person. This beautifully hand-tinted print was featured in one of the few exhibitions celebrating the achievements of Soviet photography in the 1930s.