Pictorialism

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From 1890 and up to the First World War, pictorialism developed as distinct movement that took a different direction from amateur and professional photography. Technical advances made photography accessible to a wider circle of practitioners. The pictorialists, however, were interested in the craft of photography. The style was inspired by impressionism, symbolism and naturalism, and there was a heated debate on how to develop photography as an art form.

The pictorialists’ images are characterized by soft focus and a palette that ranges from brown, earthy tones to strong reds and blues. They worked with a variety of processes such as gum bichromate, platinum and bromoil printing with the purpose of creating or “painting” on light-sensitive paper.

Pictorialism was the first international art photography movement. Sweden was on the periphery of this movement, but it found a following here too, with a number of talented photographers. In 1888, Fotografiska Föreningen (the Photographers’ Association) was established and became the driving force behind piktorialism through Helmer Bäckström in particular. In the 1890s, the professional photographer Herman Hamnqvist was an important introducer of pictorialism. He promoted artistic photography in his many articles and lectures. Other colourful representatives were Uno Falkengren, Ferdinand Flodin, John Hertzberg, Gösta Hübinette and Ture Sellman.

The second wave includes Henry B. Goodwin, a major figure in Sweden and the Nordic countries. Goodwin was renowned for his expressive, subdued portraits and his many Stockholm cityscapes. Women photographers, on the other hand, have disappeared from the writing of history of this period. The networking that took place in clubs and associations seems to have excluded many women, even if they had their own successful studios.

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