Simeon Zakyan was one of the more prominent documentary photographers working in Baku. He began his career as a filmmaker at the Azerbaijanafilm studio, where he worked from 1931 to 1941.(1) In 1935 Zakyan got a second job as a photo-correspondent and artistic editor in the Armenian language newspaper ‘Communist’. After participating in the Great Patriotic War, the photographer returned to his hometown and continued his photojournalistic practice. Zakyan’s portraits of political and cultural figures who visited Azerbaijan, including Kalinin, Voroshilov and Anastas Mikoyan were widely published and brought him acclaim in Azerbaijan. In the early stages of his practice, he collaborated with his wife, Sofiya Zakyan, who later launched her own independent career as a documentary photographer.

1) For biographical details see Vahan Kochar, Hay Lusankarichner [Armenian Photographers], self-published, 2007, p.159

Vigen Galstyan, 2016