Karel Šmirous
Encyclopedia
Karel Šmirous was Czech scientist and the only Czech photographer who specialized in color photography
using the autochrome process.
Karel Šmirous took his first black-and-white photographs at the age of 12. After leaving high school, he wanted to become a painter; however, his father decided that he should study chemistry. During his studies at Czech Technical University in Prague from 1908–1912, he became aware of autochrome, and began his lifelong interest in color photography. His photograph of Český Krumlov, taken in 1908, and published by Minerva in 1910, was the first known Czech color postcard using autochrome.
Back in Český Krumlov, Šmirous worked with local photographer Josef Seidel. With him, he photographed Český Krumlov and the mountain area of Šumava (Bohemian Forest
), where he photographed nature in color, especially the Boubín primeval forest. His sense of art composition was also influenced by his mother, who had herself studied painting with Amálie Mánesová, sister of famous painter Josef Mánes
.
Šmirous gained further experience in Germany
and France
, and his chemistry studies, specializing in color dyes, allowed him to experiment with color printing techniques. In 1913 he met the Lumière brothers, and because of all their common interests, they became firm friends, and he remained in contact with them till end of their lives.
After gaining his Doctorate in Chemistry, Šmirous worked as assistant to Prof. Votočka. During the period 1913 – 1918, he made first experiments with color printing, and after the war, he was sent by the Czech Academy of Sciences to visit the laboratory of the Lumière brothers in France. He worked there several times in his career, and in 1931, he solved the problem of enlarging color photographs under artificial light.
Šmirous' long research into color printing culminated in his discovery and patent of the Hydrotype process in 1921. For this invention, and the photographs printed by it, he was given a gold medal at the World Expo in Paris in 1937. Despite interest in the invention from Kodak, his technique was not widely adopted, partly because of WWII, and partly due to the introduction of modern color photographic paper. Karel Šmirous is the author of three Czechoslovak patents in the area of color photography.
In parallel with his scientific career, Karel Šmirous was also a very successful photographer. His photographs are not only technically excellent, but are also notable for their composition and use of color. From his early experiments with color, he developed a style with careful choice of colors, often using only variants of a single dominating color. His work is very rich thematically – he photographed in still life, portraits, nudes, landscapes, reportages, advertisements and scientific photography.
Šmirous published color postcards of excellent technical quality, and presented lectures and exhibitions with color photographs and 18×24 cm autochrome slides. He also published a number of books, and prepared a representative booklet, “Czechoslovakia”, for the 1958 World Expo in Brussels
.
Color photography
Color photography is photography that uses media capable of representing colors, which are traditionally produced chemically during the photographic processing phase...
using the autochrome process.
Karel Šmirous took his first black-and-white photographs at the age of 12. After leaving high school, he wanted to become a painter; however, his father decided that he should study chemistry. During his studies at Czech Technical University in Prague from 1908–1912, he became aware of autochrome, and began his lifelong interest in color photography. His photograph of Český Krumlov, taken in 1908, and published by Minerva in 1910, was the first known Czech color postcard using autochrome.
Back in Český Krumlov, Šmirous worked with local photographer Josef Seidel. With him, he photographed Český Krumlov and the mountain area of Šumava (Bohemian Forest
Bohemian Forest
The Bohemian Forest, also known in Czech as Šumava , is a low mountain range in Central Europe. Geographically, the mountains extend from South Bohemia in the Czech Republic to Austria and Bavaria in Germany...
), where he photographed nature in color, especially the Boubín primeval forest. His sense of art composition was also influenced by his mother, who had herself studied painting with Amálie Mánesová, sister of famous painter Josef Mánes
Josef Mánes
Josef Mánes was a Czech painter.He was taught by his father, Antonín Mánes , who was a landscape painter and the professor of arts; in addition, he was the nephew of Václav Mánes, and brother of Quido Mánes and Amalie Mánesová, all of whom were also painters...
.
Šmirous gained further experience in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and his chemistry studies, specializing in color dyes, allowed him to experiment with color printing techniques. In 1913 he met the Lumière brothers, and because of all their common interests, they became firm friends, and he remained in contact with them till end of their lives.
After gaining his Doctorate in Chemistry, Šmirous worked as assistant to Prof. Votočka. During the period 1913 – 1918, he made first experiments with color printing, and after the war, he was sent by the Czech Academy of Sciences to visit the laboratory of the Lumière brothers in France. He worked there several times in his career, and in 1931, he solved the problem of enlarging color photographs under artificial light.
Šmirous' long research into color printing culminated in his discovery and patent of the Hydrotype process in 1921. For this invention, and the photographs printed by it, he was given a gold medal at the World Expo in Paris in 1937. Despite interest in the invention from Kodak, his technique was not widely adopted, partly because of WWII, and partly due to the introduction of modern color photographic paper. Karel Šmirous is the author of three Czechoslovak patents in the area of color photography.
In parallel with his scientific career, Karel Šmirous was also a very successful photographer. His photographs are not only technically excellent, but are also notable for their composition and use of color. From his early experiments with color, he developed a style with careful choice of colors, often using only variants of a single dominating color. His work is very rich thematically – he photographed in still life, portraits, nudes, landscapes, reportages, advertisements and scientific photography.
Šmirous published color postcards of excellent technical quality, and presented lectures and exhibitions with color photographs and 18×24 cm autochrome slides. He also published a number of books, and prepared a representative booklet, “Czechoslovakia”, for the 1958 World Expo in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
.
Further reading
- Catalogue of exhibition at National Technical Museum in Prague „Karel Šmirous Autochromy z let 1908 -1955“ – 1993