AUGUSTE AND LOUIS LUMIERE THE INVENTION OF COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY THE QUEST FOR COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY From the momentous time when the first photographs were taken in 1839, the quest to discover a means to transform the monochromatic world into one gleaming with colour occupied photographers, artists, inventors and scientists. The Lumière Brothers had been experimenting with colour photography since the 1890s, publishing their first article on the subject in 1895, the same year they won fame for the birth of cinema with their public screening in the Grand Café in Paris. Following this remarkable milestone, they devoted tireless effort and enthusiasm to achieving what the brothers considered the invention of their lives; the autochrome, the first commercially viable colour photographic process. The autochrome was patented in December 1903, but it was not until 1907 that it was unveiled at the Photo Club de Paris and made available commercially. Edward Steichen and Alfred Stieglitz, the leading lights in American art-photography were in Paris at the time. Steichen immediately began working with autochromes and Stieglitz spread the word with enthusiasm and vision. Writing in July 1907 he lauded the Lumières’ achievement; “All are amazed at the remarkably truthful color rendering; the wonderful luminosity of the shadows, that bug-bear of the photographer in monochrome; the endless range of grays, the richness of the deep colors. In short, soon the world will be color-mad, and Lumière will be responsible.” (Edward Steichen) That which had been looked upon as practically unachievable was accomplished, and literally changed the way people saw the world. TECHNICAL INNOVATION AND PROCESSES The humble potato was the key to the production of the autochrome plates. Microscopic granules of potato starch were dyed in three colours; red, green, and blue-violet, the particles were thoroughly mixed (though inevitably there were clumps of colour which produce some of the distinctive character of the autochrome images) A clear glass plate was coated with a thin film of varnish onto which a layer of the starch particles were sifted to a density of five to six million per square inch. The plates were compressed by exerting tremendous pressure on the glass of over five tonnes per square inch. Gaps between the particles were filled with carbon black. The coloured dots were then sealed with a further thin coating of varnish. A layer of light sensitive black and white emulsion was finally added. Exposure times were long. Even in bright sunlight at least one second of exposure time was needed, and in overcast conditions this could be increased to upwards of ten seconds. In a studio, even if it was well lit, portraits could require an exposure up to thirty seconds. After the negative plate was developed in the lab, it was washed, dried, covered with another sheet of glass to protect the emulsion and bound with gummed tape. The result was a delicate transparency on glass which could be viewed or projected by back lighting. By 1913 the Lumière factory in Lyon was producing 6,000 autochrome plates a day. Colour photography was available to everyone. THE UNIQUE BEAUTY OF THE AUTOCHROME The Autochrome is the rarest, the most fragile, and, to a great many eyes, the most beautiful of photographic processes. It represents not just the birth of colour photography but colour as luminous as the camera ever caught it. The technical make-up and photographic process of the autochrome undoubtedly gave it its exceptional painterly qualities. The early enthusiast Edward Steichen eagerly observed, “The palette and canvas are a dull and lifeless medium by comparison”. (Steichen) Autochromes have a distinctive, timeless and ethereal beauty, which is undoubtedly a major factor in their enduring charm. Many believe this wonderful process has never been equalled in beauty by all subsequent photographic processes. The photographs are often compared with the work of impressionist and pointillist painters, and have a quality of colour and mood that defines both a definite style and captures a particular historical period. The aesthetic impression is similar to that of pointillist painting, in that the colour effect is conveyed by the juxtaposition of a multitude of dots seen at a distance, creating a glowing effect evocative of stained glass in a mosaic of colour. When seen under magnification or at close proximity the component dots become very apparent. Much of the essential charm of these photographs derives from this technique. Autochrome images lent themselves particularly to still life, landscape, and portrait photographs, particularly of children. The necessity for subjects to hold perfectly still contributed to the images’ calm and mellow atmosphere. The autochrome remained the main process of colour photography until 1932, and remains unequalled for its mesmerising beauty and its otherwordly character which is both dreamlike and vibrant. Original and Unique Glass Plates (Autochromes) taken in 1910-11 on sale together with Unique Colour Print of each image Images Prices Mondrian’s Room Art | Photography | Consultancy Mondrian’s Room Art | Photography | Consultancy
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