Good Morning Prussia (Guten Morgen Preussen) is a series of handmade cyanotype photographs. It is the story of a “little Nubian boy”, August Sabac el Cher, who was given as a "gift" to a German noble due to his musical talents.
The portraits were exposed in the style of the cyanotype in order to honour a specific “Prussian blue”. It intentionally confuses an original depiction in Emil Doerstling’s Prussian Love Happiness (1890), in which Gustav Sabac el Cher, the son of August Sabac el Cher and Anna Maria Jung (also shown in this series) was portrayed by a painter we can only presume to have been overly fixated on the young man’s blackness so as to over-exaggerate it.
The original photograph of this painting can be found among the books presented by SAVVY.doc. Gustav Sabac el Cher, who would later become a soldier and lead conductor of the Prussian imperial band, is portrayed here with his likeness playfully superimposed on Emil Doerstling’s original painting.
Text: Mokia Laisin
Morgensglück
(Morning Hapiness) Portrait of Gertrud (née Perlig) & Gustav Sabac el Cher in the gardens of Fürst Muskauer-Park (formerly part of Prussia) handmade Cyanotype print from digitally-collaged negatives on Bütten-Ingres paper 31cmx48cm, Ed.10, 2009 Berlin
Vater Son vor Wasser Pyramiden
(Father Son by Water Pyramids) Morphed portraiture of August (father) and Gustav (son) Sabac el Cher, from digitally-collaged negatives handmade Cyanotype print from digitally-collaged negatives on Bütten-Ingres paper 24cmx31cm)Ed.10, 2009 Berlin
Preussiches Schicksal
(Prussian Destiny) Portrait of Gustav Sabac el Cher and the German Emperor (Kaiser) on horseback handmade Cyanotype print from digitally-collaged negatives on Bütten-Ingres paper 24cmx31cm)Ed.10, 2009 Berlin
Reflexionsbecken
(Reflection Pool) Portrait of August Sabac el Cher in the gardens of Fürst (Prince) Muskauer Pückler handmade Cyanotype print from digitally-collaged negatives on Bütten-Ingres paper 24cmx31cm)Ed.10, 2009 Berlin
Mother Delta
(Mother Delta) Portrait of Anna and her future Egyptian born spouse August Sabac el Cher handmade Cyanotype print from digitally-collaged negatives on Bütten-Ingres paper 31cmx48cm) Ed.10, 2009 Berlin
