Pictorialism
ピクトリアリズム / late-1800s–c.1914 / Style / Photography Movements
Presented photography as art equal to painting, through soft focus, staged scenes and handworked prints.
At a glance
Visual cues
- Soft focus
- Mist and backlight
- Painterly composition
- Handcrafted prints
Best used for
- Portraits meant to be atmospheric pictures rather than records
- Landscapes sold as works, with the handmade print part of the value
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Dictionary entry
- Type
- Title and sign by hand in the print margin, never on the image
- Composition
- Move the subject off center, gather the light in one area, sink the rest
- Material
- Soft focus, backlit mist, hand coated printing that keeps the paper texture
- Caution
- Applying blur uniformly afterwards leaves no trace of anyone following the light, and the result is simply a photograph out of focus.
- Further study
- Alfred Stieglitz / Edward Steichen / Clarence H. White
Related entries
- Victorian Ornament (ヴィクトリアン装飾)Shared effects: Luxury.Compare Pictorialism and Victorian Ornament
- Art Nouveau (アール・ヌーヴォー)Shared effects: Luxury / Intimacy.Compare Pictorialism and Art Nouveau
More from Photography Movements
Continue through styles in the same Photography Movements family, prioritised by shared effects.
- New Color Photography (ニューカラー)Shared effects: Intimacy / Calm.
- FSA Documentary (FSAドキュメンタリー)Shared effects: Intimacy / Calm.
- New Objectivity Photography (新即物主義写真)Shared effects: Calm.
Browse all Photography Movements entries
Cite this entry
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- https://indexstyle.org/styles/pictorialism
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- [Pictorialism — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/pictorialism)
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