Which photograph is an example of pictorialism?

Niagara, a photograph of Niagara Falls (from the Canadian side) by English photographer Alfred Horsley Hinton (1863–1908). Resources: Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art.

What is pictorialism in art?

Pictorialism is an international style and aesthetic movement that dominated photography during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. For the pictorialist, a photograph, like a painting, drawing or engraving, was a way of projecting an emotional intent into the viewer’s realm of imagination.

How did pictorialism change photography?

Pictorialists took the medium of photography and reinvented it as an art form, placing beauty, tonality, and composition above creating an accurate visual record.

What is pictorialism vs straight photography?

Pure photography is defined as possessing no qualities of technique, composition or idea, derivative of any other art form. The production of the “Pictorialist,” on the other hand, indicates a devotion to principles of art which are directly related to painting and the graphic arts.”

How is pictorialism related to other artistic movements?

Pictorialism was closely linked to prevailing artistic movements, as the photographers took inspiration from popular art, adopting its styles and ideas to demonstrate parity between it and photography. Movements that were particularly influential were Tonalism, Impressionism and, in some instances, Victorian genre painting.

What was the role of photographers in pictorialism?

Such photographs emphasized the role of the photographer as craftsman and countered the argument that photography was an entirely mechanical medium.

Why are Tonalism and pictorialism important to photography?

Both Tonalism and pictorialism encouraged the artist to generate an emotional response in the viewer through the use of atmospheric elements and subdued tonalities to convey a mood in the image. The hand of man on the final image was another important concept underlying pictorialism.

Who are some important people in the history of photography?

In pictorialism, the aesthetics, emotional impact, and artistic quality of the final image take primacy over the subject matter in front of the lens. The concept of photographic pictorialism developed in parallel with that of the Tonalism style of painting, exemplified by artists such as James McNeill Whistler.