Autochromes, Pointillism With Potatoes

Oscar Grillo posted this image on his Oscartoons blog back in June 2006.

He remarked:

The Lumiere Brothers not only invented the “Kinematograph” but they also invented the “Autochrome”, a wonderful system to record colour images on a glass plate.

They had an exquisite eye for photographic aesthetics.

I was bowled over by the rich saturated images that the autochrome process produced. What’s more, the process really was derived from potato starch grains dyed in the manner of Pointillism.

Look at the Wikipedia entry for Autochromes that explains the chemistry at the root of these early colour photographs.

The Lumiere Brothers were followed very quickly by other photographers eager to experiment with their new technonlgy.

A friend of theirs, Jean-Baptiste Tournassoud, was an avid photographer, and an enthusiast of the new colour medium.

Looking at Tournassoud’s work, I was quickly distracted from how the photos were made, and much more fascinated by his subjects.

Tournassoud’s website is divided into many sections according to subject, and these pictures of the military units in France around the time of World War One opened up a new window for me, especially as he has documented so many of France’s colonial troops. (I’ve just finished reading “The Road To Verdun” by Ian Ousby, which contains many references to France’s colonial troops, so my interest was piqued.)

Tournassoud used an almost painterly composition in his photographs that gave them a sort of heroic - mythical quality. (discussed here, in French)

I suppose that because the photographic plate needed to be exposed for at least several seconds, the subjects would have to hold a pose anyway, so why shouldn’t the photographer ask the subjects for interesting poses?

You have to admire these uniforms. From a modern perspective many of them seem absurdly theatrical.

3rd Zouave Regiment doing their laundry, 1914

Alpine Hunters bivouac, 1914

Spahis billeted in a barn, 1915
I can’t find a translation for “Spahis”, though I did find the picture below that was captioned “Spahis”, so I guess they were a North African Cavalry Regiment.

Spahis

Algerian Fusilier, 1916

7th Cavalry Regiment, 1913

Infantrymen in Trench, 1916
This is such a familiar view of WW1 soldiers in trenches. What takes me by surprise is how the addition of colour lifts the scene from its distant historical documentary and brings the people in it to life.

German Prisoners of War, 1914

Sikh Soldiers of the British Army, Pas de Calais, 1915

14th Regiment du Train, 1914
I have no idea who the “Regiment du Train” were, nor what they did, I just admire their treatment of their tent, and those dashing looking kepis (caps).

Military Slaughterhouse
The soldiers all had to be fed, and while this abattoir probably wouldn’t pass any modern hygiene standards, it did the job well enough for the troops.

After that rather disgusting spectacle (but a lot less disgusting than the carnage that surrounded it), let’s finish with a little moment of fragrant autochrome sweetness here.

Greenhouse Flowers, 1920