Johannes Pääsuke
Life
Life
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Very little is known of the youth of Johannes Pääsuke. He was born in [Tartu](/wiki/Tartu "Tartu"), the fourth of the six children of a comfortably\-off couple. Johannes's siblings were well educated, but all that is known about Johannes's own education is that he studied photography. By his own account, he started photography at fifteen in 1907 and it is likely that he contacted the [Estonian National Museum](/wiki/Estonian_National_Museum "Estonian National Museum") (ERM) in 1912, having already taken photographs in various places in Estonia.Kaelep, 83–4\.

In 1913, Pääsuke began a project for the ERM to document Estonia's lands, trades and architecture through photography and the collection of artifacts.

[thumb\|left\|300px\|Pääsuke with companion Harri Volter at the beginning of the trip in [Vaivara](/wiki/Vaivara%2C_Estonia "Vaivara, Estonia") (1913\)](/wiki/File:J._P%C3%A4%C3%A4suke_seltsilisega_reisi_alguses_Vaivaras%2C_ERM_Fk214_19.jpg "J. Pääsuke seltsilisega reisi alguses Vaivaras, ERM Fk214 19.jpg")
A major part of this project was a tour Pääsuke made with an assistant, Harri Volter, to the Estonian coast, from 10 June to 29 July 1913\. The two traveled most of the way by foot, carrying the normal luggage and also cameras, a tripod, plates and so forth. Three hundred and seventeen photographs remain from this trip, many of [Saaremaa](/wiki/Saaremaa "Saaremaa") and [Muhu](/wiki/Muhu "Muhu"). Pääsuke's work was highly appreciated by ERM, which opened an exhibition of the photographs on 2 August 1913\.Kaelep 85–6\.

Pääsuke is known to have taken more than 1,300 photographs on glass plates in this national ethnographic project, which also included two larger series, one made in 1908–13 across much of the south of the nation, and the other made in 1914 in [Tartu](/wiki/Tartu "Tartu").Kaelep 89\.

Pääsuke was also the first Estonian to make a film. He made about 40 films in his career with 10 films still in existence − five newsreels, four documentaries, and one work of fiction, the political satire *[Karujaht Pärnumaal](/wiki/Karujaht_P%C3%A4rnumaal "Karujaht Pärnumaal")* (*Bear Hunt in [Pärnu County](/wiki/P%C3%A4rnu_County "Pärnu County")*).

In 1915, Pääsuke was conscripted to serve as a second\-rank infantryman in the reserve battalion of the Lithuanian Regiment of the Foot Guards; he was mobilized on 8 September and was in St Petersburg on 14 November. He managed to be recognized as a photographer, receiving a camera by the end of the month, and continued his photographic activities both in Russia proper and in Estonia.Kaelep 87–8\.

Pääsuke died in a train accident in 1918 in [Orsha](/wiki/Orsha "Orsha"), Belarus.


How many children did Johannes's parents have?