May 1999 The Art of Hand Coloring
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| Handcoloring, (known as a companion art to photography) arrived with
the invention of photography in 1839.It's most popular use had been in the
colorizing of monochrome portraiture, a practice that compensated for the lack of color
films. With the invention of photography, miniaturist painters were virtually put out of
work, and many turned to coloring photographs as freelancers, or as employees of photo
studios. This continued into the 1950’s. Handcoloring was not limited to portraiture. Landscape, still life and nature photography all benefited from handcoloring. Handcoloring went though many trials, as various mediums arose. There was the "Daguerrotype", an image on a metal plate, adding color was no simple matter! They used color powders which were "fixed" with various chemicals, or "the painters breath!" The "Albumen Process" which was an emulsion coated on the surface with a thin film of egg white. Since this was a smooth, glossy surface, colors adhered only with difficulty. One of the most interesting manifestations of handcoloring was the "Crystoleum". An albumen print was placed face down inside a curved glass, and affixed with paste. When the print dried the paper backing was sanded away, leaving only a very thin backing and the image. To help transparency, the print was rubbed with wax or oil. Color was then added from the back of the print. Marlene Pryts hand oils photographs in the beautiful Napa Valley of California
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Through the
years handcoloring continued to evolve and continued in popularity. Once color
photography became commonplace in the 1950’s the use of handcoloring went out of
popularity. In the late 1960’s there was a rediscovery and reappearance of
handcoloring as an art. It also moved into the commercial world of advertising and
fashion. Today, the universal appeal of handcoloring has meant that it
is commonly seen in both fine, and commercial art. Your customers will love the look of a
hand oiled picture. I take their special image, and turn it into an heirloom that is
archival, and will last for their grandchildren to enjoy. I know you will delight as I do,
in seeing the excitement your customers express when they see the transformation of their
old image into an heirloom oil painting.
If you have an article to contribute, please send it to the editor via email: jpryts@aol.com for consideration. Contributors will receive a link to their page from their article or news item while it runs, and a permanent link on the article archive page, thereafter. If you wish, you can attach your item as a .doc or .txt file |
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