The Art of the Autochrome...Part 2

I really love the colors of a good Autochrome.  I know that the colors aren't real but they certainly fit a certain mood.  Autochromes were created in 1903 by the Lumiere Brothers in France and marketed in 1907 to the rest of the world. There were a lot of incredible photos taken with this technology but by the 1930's it was dated and people went on to color film.

Here are some of the beautiful autochromes that are inspiring me today...

Arnold Genthe, Lady of the Sea, c. 1910


Gabriel Veyre - Casablanca  - 1908

Lumiere Bros, Woman in A Colorful Costume c. 1912

Georges Chevalier,Angle de la rue Lepic et de la rue Puget, en bas de Montmartre, 1914
Alfonse Van Besten, Two Girls Picking Cornflowers, 1912
Arnold Genthe, Nude Study, c. 1920's
Richard Sullivan, Charlie Chaplin, 1915
Photographer Unknown,Woman in Pink Dress Sitting in Chair Holding Roses, 1915 via George Eastman
Alfonse Van Besten ~Modesty c. 1912
Charles Corbet, Young Lady with a Fan on Couch, 1910
Charles Corbet, Melancholia, c. 1910
Do you have any favorite old technology's you wish would come back in style?

Want to see more? Here's the link to my original post, "Art of the Autochrome" .

Art Heroes - Southworth & Hawes Photography

Some of the most inspiring (and oldest) photography was done by the photography firm of Southworth & Hawes  ( Albert Sands Southworth (1811–1894) and Josiah Johnson Hawes (1808–1901).  They were primary active between from 1843-1863 in Boston.

These guys really amaze me. I love the way they arrange their subjects. The sitters seem a lot more real then most of the Victorian photography I've seen before. They photographed some of the most famous people of the time including Louisa May Alcott, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Daniel Webster. But the daguerreotypes that really stand out for me are the everyday people...the "unidentified" people.

Unidentified Child, circa 1850
The Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Family, 1849

"The artist, even in photography, must go beyond discovery and the knowlege of facts; he must create and invent truths and produce new developments of facts. "
--A.S. Southworth, 1870
Death of Pain (first public administered Ether anesthesia)1847


 
Rollin Heber Neal



Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1857




Alice Mary Hawes, 1852


"Learn to look and see the difference under different lights in the same faces. Learn to see the fine points in every face, for the plainest faces in the world are human faces, belonging to human beings... "
--A. S. Southworth, 1873
Unidentified Girl with Ringlets, circa 1850's
Unidentified Woman, circa 1850
Unidentified Dead Child, Circa 1855



"In the nice production of light and shade which is the perfection of modelling, the Daguerreotype will be found to surpass the Artist's best efforts, being capable of representing independently, action, expression, and character to a great extent; and in some instances approaches very nearly, if it does not equal these higher branches, thus developing beauty in grace of motion and in repose, which is the first object and the supreme law of all Art."
--A.S. Southworth, 1855

Two Women Posed with a Chair, ca. 1850 
Unidentified Woman, 1852
Laura Bridgman, 1855

Winchester Family Tomb, Mount Auburn Cemetery, circa 1853

Unidentified Girl, 1850
Winter Portrait with Fur Coat and Gloves



Unidentified Child, 1850

Of course this is only a tiny bit of work by Southwork & Hawes. You can find more in the book, "Young America: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth & Hawes. You can also see more Photographs in this flickr set from the George Eastman House.

I hope these daguerreotypes have inspired you as much as they inspire me. 

Now, I'm off to work on a custom portrait...




Art Hero: Constant Puyo

Although, I've only discovered his work recently, I am in love with his photography. Émile Joachim Constant Puyo (1857 –1933)is a true inspiration to me . His work is so soft and feminine... so dreamlike and quiet. It's as if the women he photographs are themselves ghosts...

 Apparitions 1910
Im Schilf 1903
La Tapisserie 1900
Au Jardin Fleuri 1899
Nude - Against the Light 1906
Juin, 1899
Alma Mater, 1904
Sommeil 1897
Nymph, 1904

Chant Sacre c. 1900

His photographs are so incredible, don't you think? Puyo uses textures and graininess in his work to really help develop that certain eerie feeling that I love. He truly is someone to study in his use of light and shadows. What an inspiration! I going to get painting now.

Is anything awakening your inner muse today?


The Art of the Autochrome

As you all know, I have a deep love for vintage photography. It transports me through time. I truly love the surreal darkened colors of a Autochrome.  Although the early color technique invented by the Lumiere Bros. was only around for about 20 years, I love what has survived. Each photo looks like a strange dusty painting. A place lost somewhere between color and black & white.

I would love to study more of these autochrome colors. The pinks and blues are incredible. Don't you think they would make a lovely painting palette.

Sitting with mom in brilliant blue...via the George Eastman House
Girls with a pink umbrella via Lisby

Stuffed Birds, 1915 via How to be a Retronaut
Pretty lady in satin holding mirror via George Eastman House
These two gentleman via Lisby
Another gorgeous one via The George Eastman House
Listening to Music by Jean-Baptiste Tournassoud? via cinemalane
Ballerina by Gervais Courtellemont
Modesty by Alfonse Van Besten 1912
Skulls by Paul Sano 1912
Not enough? Want to see more?

Click on this link to the awesome site of Autochrome collector Florent Van Hoot.

I'm may be a weirdo...

But I love finding random stuff like this. Thank you Tumbler...Strangely enough, here is a photo of a  dead guy's grave from my small town of Dudley, MA. Kind of gives you shivers doesn't it. The photo is from about 1855.  I wonder who Cha' (Charles?) Carpenter was and why he died so young...

Gravediggers via Fuckyeahvictorians