Western Paintings - Pictorialism - A Fine-Arts Approach to Photography

Pictorialism - The Concept
Pictorialism (1885-1914) was a form of art photography, aimed to bring out the beauty of the subject matter. The idea was to 'make' a picture by capturing a scene through camera. Artistic manipulations were then done to add to the aesthetics of the composition.

The History
British author Henry Peach Robinson (1830-1901) first established the principles of Pictorialism in his book Pictorial Effect in Photography (1869). In an attempt to establish photography as a Fine Art, Robinson suggested compositional measures to add personal expression to camera images. In 1880, British photographer Peter Henry Emerson (1856-1936) and his followers brought Pictorialist style closer to the Impressionist style by imitating the subjects of genre painting and using additive efforts to construct a picture far from the spontaneous transcription of nature. His precepts inspired photographers in the West and by 1900, there were multiple associations, like the Brotherhood of the Linked Ring (London), the Photo Club (Paris), the Society for the Encouragement of Amateur Photography (Hamburg), the Kleeblatt in Germany and Austria, the Photo-Secession (New York), and the Studio Club (Toronto), all promoting photography as a Pictorial Art.

The Details
The most primitive technique, devised by Robinson, was to create composite picture by joining the sections of different photographs. The early methods used were soft focus, special filters, and lens coatings. Photographers later developed techniques to do handwork on the negative. Others used homemade photographic papers, including gum bi-chromate, brush developed platinum prints, and etched surface developed with needle, etc, with exotic printing processes. To establish the uniqueness of each print of a negative, artists also included monograms and colorful frames and mats to present the picture.

Famous Pictorialists
o Alvin Langdon Coburn (1882-1966)
o Frederic Holland Day (1864-1933)
o Guido Rey (1861-1935)
o Eduard Jean Steichen (1879-1973)
o Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946)
o Clarence Hudson White (1871-1925)
o Edward Weston (1886-1958)
o Paul Strand (1890-1976)

Conclusion
Pictorialism was a reaction to mechanization and industrialization in Photography. This movement reached its height in the early 20th century, with the inclusion of Stieglitz's photographs in Albright's Gallery, in 1910, opening museum doors to Photography. Pictorialism declined rapidly after the emergence of Modernism in 1914. The same set of photographic associations renounced it to give way to 'Straight Photography,' which brings out the perfection, a photographer can achieve with a camera. Although, Pictorialism declined as a movement, its aesthetic concerns have always remained influential in Photography for adding a personal expression to this art.

Source : Ezinearticles