The First Art Movements of Photography Pictorialism ‘The New Photography’
PICTORIALISM Pictorialism was an international fine art photography movement from the 1890s to the 1930s. For a Pictorialist, a photograph should look like a painting, a print or a drawing, and resemble Impressionist and Symbolist art. Pictorialists used elaborate printing techniques to make their photographs look like “art”
The earlier, Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron was an inspiration for Pictorialist artists. Julia Margaret Cameron, The Echo 1868
Gertrude Kasebier, Portrait of actress Evelyn Nesbit, 1902 Julia Margaret Cameron, The Echo 1868
Gertrude Kasebier, Portrait of actress Evelyn Nesbit, 1902 Gertrude Kasebier, Blessed Art Thou Among Women. Platinum print 1899
This image depicts the Victorian ideals of motherhood and femininity. Gertrude Kasebier made highly symbolic pictures that were staged for the camera. This image depicts the Victorian ideals of motherhood and femininity. Gertrude Kasebier, Blessed Art Thou Among Women. Platinum print 1899
Heinrich Kühn, The Mirror, 1911 photogravure Gertrude Kasebier, Blessed Art Thou Among Women. Platinum print, 1899
Edward Steichen, Torso, Paris. 1902 photogravure Heinrich Kühn, The Mirror, 1911 photogravure
Edward Steichen, The Big White Cloud, Lake George, 1903. Carbon print Edward Steichen, Torso, Paris. 1902 photogravure
Edward Steichen, The Flatiron 1904, Gum bichromate over platinum print Edward Steichen, The Big White Cloud, Lake George, 1903. Carbon print Edward Steichen, The Flatiron 1904, Gum bichromate over platinum print
“Steichen added color to the platinum print that forms the foundation of this photograph by using layers of pigment suspended in a light-sensitive solution of gum arabic and potassium bichromate. Indebted in its composition to the Japanese woodcuts that were in vogue at the turn of the century and in its coloristic effect to the "Nocturnes" of Whistler.” Metropolitan Museum, New York Edward Steichen, The Flatiron 1904, Gum bichromate over platinum print
Hiroshige, The 53 Stations of the Tokkaido Road, 1855 Whistler, Nocturne in Black and Gold 1873
Hiroshige, The 53 Stations of the Tokkaido Road, 1855 Alvin Langdon Coburn, from London 1910
Alvin Langdon Coburn was a Pictorialist photographer influenced by Impressionism and Japanese woodcuts. He used a telephoto lens to flatten perspective and make his compositions more graphic. Alvin Langdon Coburn, from London 1910 Alvin Langdon Coburn, from London 1910
Alvin Langdon Coburn, from London 1910
Alvin Langdon Coburn, from London 1910
Alvin Langdon Coburn, from London 1910
Harold Casneux, Steam and Sunshine, 1935 In Pictorialism, even an industrial subject is made into a soft, dreamy art image. Harold Casneaux was Australia’s leading Pictorialist, and one of our greatest photographers. Harold Casneux, Steam and Sunshine, 1935
Harold Casneux, Steam and Sunshine, 1935 John Kaufmann, The Street Corner 1914
John Kaufmann, The Street Corner 1914 Jack Cato, Through a Collins Street Window
Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, 1907 This photograph has fascinated photographers for 100 years because it is so well designed and is so open to interpretation. Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, 1907
Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, 1907 The madonna figure amongst the poor passengers in the bottom section gives the picture a symbolic quality. She resembles depictions of Mary, the mother of Christ. The bright gangplank separates the poorer steerage passengers below from the better-off ones above. This suggests the class divisions of society. Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, 1907
Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, 1907 Its tight geometric structure and flattened depth predicts the coming of modernism and abstraction in photography. Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, 1907
Eugene Atget was a commercial photographer in Paris in the the first decades of the 20th century. He documented the buildings and streets of Paris for clients who wanted visual information about the city, historians, architects, designers, collectors etc. Atget, Rue de Seine, 1924
Atget, Notre Dame, 1926 Atget, Rue de Seine, 1924
Atget, Notre Dame, 1926 Atget, Saint Cloud, 1924
Atget, Parc Monceau, 1926 Atget, Saint Cloud, 1924
Before he died in 1927, Atget prints were collected by the Surrealist artists. Although he did not intend it, they found the strange, dreamlike photography similar to their Surrealist art. Atget, Avenue des Gobelins, 1926
Atget, Avenue des Gobelins, 1925
Atget, Parc Monceau, 1926
The New Photography
THE NEW PHOTOGRAPHY In the 1920s and '30s unconventional new forms and techniques suddenly appeared in photography. unusual camera angles moving cameras and subjects the use of small cameras, especially the Leica new techniques such as photomontage and photogram This approach was promoted in the German Bauhaus school and in the Constructivist movement in Russia.
What is the subject of this photograph? Moholy-Nagy was an abstract painter, designer and photographer. He photographed a park from a high angle, emphasizing its abstract qualities. Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, From the radio tower 1928
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, abstract painting, 1922 From the radio tower 1928
Boris Ignatovich, Construction Site, 1929 Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, From the radio tower 1928
Boris Ignatovich, Construction Site, 1929 Rodchenko, Fire escape, 1929
Film and Foto, Exhibition poster 1929 Rodchenko, Fire escape, 1929
Film and Foto, Exhibition poster 1929 Rodchenko, Young Pioneer , 1929
Lucia Moholy, Franz Roh, 1926 Rodchenko, Young Pioneer , 1929
Higher speed films were making faster shutter speeds possible. A high speed film in the 1920s was 100 ISO. Martin Munkacsi, Liberia, 1931
Willi Ruge, The Photographer, 1931 Small portable cameras like the new 35mm Leica, took photography into new situations. Willi Ruge, The Photographer, 1931
Leica advertisement, c1930 Willi Ruge, The Photographer, 1931
Industrial and architectural photography also reflected the aesthetic of The New Photography: clear, factual and well-designed Albert Renger-Patszch, Iron and Steel, book
Albert Renger-Patszch, Iron and Steel
Albert Renger-Patszch
Portraiture changed from the romantic style of Pictorialism to a more straightforward approach, called The New Objectivity. August Sander photographed in a simple, factual style, creating a cross-section of the German population through portraits. August Sander, Bricklayer, c1928
Portraiture changed from the romantic style of Pictorialism to a more straightforward approach, called The New Objectivity. August Sander photographed in a simple, factual style, creating a cross-section of the German population through portraits. August Sander, Bricklayer, c1928
Portraiture changed from the romantic style of Pictorialism to a more straightforward approach, called The New Objectivity. August Sander photographed in a simple, factual style, creating a cross-section of the German population through portraits. August Sander, Bricklayer, c1928
Portraiture changed from the romantic style of Pictorialism to a more straightforward approach, called The New Objectivity. August Sander photographed in a simple, factual style, creating a cross-section of the German population through portraits. August Sander, Bricklayer, c1928
One of the great portrait photographers was August Sander August Sander, Secretary, 1928 August Sander, Bricklayer, c1928
One of the great portrait photographers was August Sander August Sander, Secretary, 1928 August Sander, painter, 1928
August Sander, Soldier, 1936 August Sander, painter, 1928
The New Photography in Australia Max Dupain, Silos through Windscreen, 1935
The New Photography in Australia Max Dupain, Silos through Windscreen, 1935
Max Dupain, Pyrmont, 1935 Max Dupain, Silos through Windscreen, 1935
He specialized in industrial photography Wolfgang Sievers continued the modernist aesthetic throughout his long career. He specialized in industrial photography Gears for Mining Industry, 1960
Sulphuric acid plant Hobart, 1959 Gears for Mining Industry, 1960