What is Pictorialism, When did it start and by whom?
Pictorialism was the reinvention of photography as Art by veering away from the accuracy it displayed, which it was utilised for by painters within their work, to introducing a more artistic element to it. This was in attempt to increase its status to the same of that as painting and for it be recognised as so in galleries etc. Between 1885 and 1915 the Pictorialist movement was at its most active with centres in England, France, and the USA. (The Art Story 2020)
Some early painters experimented with photography in this way; one in particular was Oscar Rejlander. (The Art Story 2020)
According to an article in the science media museum by Harding, there is little known about the background of Rejlander with his year of birth of 1813 in doubt by his age that was written on his death certificate; however, anstry.com shows that his death was recorded as 18.1.1875 aged 62.
It is known that he studied painting and upon relocating to Rome earned money by making copies of Renaissance paintings.
According to anstry.com he arrived in Britain on 2nd August 1839 at Hull, but there is also an entry of him listing into Waltham Lodge in Lincoln, which was a place for Masons on 18 May 1838.
It has been shown that in 1840’s he was working as a portrait painter in Lincoln and around 1852 after procuring photographic prints of classical sculptures he took up photography due to the way it captured complicated details. (The Art Story 2020)
However, Pictorialism was very popular and was displayed everywhere but attitudes were changing. (Alexander 2015)
In May 1892 the then vice-president of the Photographic Society (later to become The Royal Photographic Society) Henry Peach Robinson (1830 – 1901) split from the organisation due to a greater emphasis being placed on the scientific element instead of the aesthetics of photography and founded The Linked Ring which was a Brotherhood of photographers who stated to promote photography as fine art. The Brotherhood was solely an invitation only group listing famous members as Frank Sutcliffe (1853 – 1941), Frederick Evans (1853 – 1943), Paul Martin and Alfred Stieglitz . (Lima 2012)
According to the Linked Ring’s viewpoint the way an image was produced, I.e. the printing process, was also to be viewed as a work of art. Various styles of this process were tried, brush strokes were applied to the print for artist identification and the use of bromil, cyanotype and gum bichromate were used to create soft focus.
In 1912, Alfred Stieglitz (1864 – 1946) curated an exhibition in New York at the 291 gallery, along with Edward Steichen (1879 – 1973) and Clarence White (1871 – 1925) they changed the way people viewed “art” photography. Instead of hiding behind darkroom effects, photographers should include the fundamental qualities that defined it from other forms of media, it should include the sharply focused images and print with as much detail and tone as they could; this was classed as ‘straight’ photography. (Alexander 2015)
A classic example of ‘straight’ photography is ‘The Steerage‘ taken in 1907 by Stieglitz of the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II where he was travelling to Europe to visit friends and family. It shows how the lesser fortunate people were packed into the lower decks and how certain parts of the ships fascinated him. This image documented the time he changed his direction from a painterly style to a harder edged documentary style. (Hacking & Campany 2012:183)
An artist who disapproved with the style of pictorialism was Peter Henry Emerson (1856 – 1936), a highly influential voice in photography during the 1880’s who believed that the finer essence of photography should be viewed and not the creative style of combination printing. (Hacking & Campany. 2012)
One of the famous combination prints was that of Oscar Rejlander’s The Two Ways of Life (1857) in which he used several different negatives to create one single image. The Two Ways of Life is said to have over 30 different negatives.
In the 1930’s it is stated that Ansel Adams described Pictorialism as “superficial” and “shallow” due to the way it imitates other art forms. (Alexander 2015)
Fig. 1 Two Ways of Life. Rejlander
Looking at the above image it is hard to imagine that in 1857 this was produced in the way it was. According to Lori Pauli, a curator at the National Gallery of Canada this image took six weeks to produce and three days to print and had over 32 different negatives. (YouTube 2018)
The Two Ways of Life was one of the most ambitious and controversial photographs of the nineteenth century. It represents choice and is depicted by an older man leading two young men into the world and their choice between a life of good or evil.
Evil being a life of lust, gambling, and idleness and good, a life of religion and marriage. (Metmuseum 2020)
Pictorialism is still around today with the addition of photoshop and other editing software. (The Art Story 2020)
List of References.
- Alexander, J.A.P (2015) Perspectives on Place: theory and practice in landscape photography. London: Bloomsbury Publishing 2015.
- Ancestry (2020)
- Hacking, J & Campany, D. (2012. p183) Photography: The Whole Story. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.
- Lima, MG (2012) Introduction to the History of Photography – The linked Ring [online] At: http://photographyhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/linked-ring.html (Accessed 13/05/2020)
- Harding, C (2013) Introducing Oscar Gustave Rejlander, The Father of Art Photography. At: https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/oscar-gustav-rejlander-pioneered-combination-printing/ (Accessed 11/05/2020)
- Metmuseum(2020) Two Ways of Life. At: (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/294822 (Accessed 13/05/2020)
- The Art Story. (2020) Pictoralism At: https://www.theartstory.org/movement/pictorialism/ (Accessed 11/05/2020)
- YouTube (2018): Rejlander : Two Ways of Life. At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1JwFEHAOxg (Accessed 13/05/2020)
List of Illustrations
Figure 1. Rejlander, O. (1857) Two Ways of Life [online photograph] At: http://www.codex99.com/photography/10.html (Accessed 13/05/2020)
Photography 2. Landscape - Place and Environment 