Orotone
Encyclopedia
An Orotone or gold tone is one of many types of photographic print which can be made from a negative. An orotone photograph is created by printing a positive on a glass plate precoated with a silver gelatin emulsion. Following exposure and development, the emulsion is coated with banana oil impregnated with gold
colored pigment, to yield a gold-toned image. Alternatively, the developed glass plate can be gold-leafed by hand using 23 karat gold leaf. Being printed on glass, Orotone images are extremely fragile and often require specialized frames in order to prevent breakage. Other types of prints can be made with the same negative used to make an orotone. Consequently, silver gelatin prints and platinotypes (platinum, palladium) prints are also made by those who produce orotone prints.
. Many of these orotones are by Seattle photographer Edward S. Curtis
who produced hundreds of orotone photographs of Native Americans
during his career. Curtis developed the Curt-tone using techniques which he claimed were superior.
Curtis' Endorsement of the Orotone Process:
"The ordinary photographic print, however good, lacks depth and transparency, or more strictly speaking, translucency.We all know how beautiful are the stones and pebbles in the limpid brook of the forest where the water absorbs the blue of the sky and the green of the foliage, yet when we take the same iridescent pebbles from the water and dry them they are dull and lifeless, so it is with the ordinary photographic print, but in the Curt-Tones all the transparency is retained and they are as full of life and sparkle as an opal."
Sally Larsen
(who gold-leafs each developed plate by hand) and Ryan Zoghlin
are modern practitioners of orotone photography.
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
colored pigment, to yield a gold-toned image. Alternatively, the developed glass plate can be gold-leafed by hand using 23 karat gold leaf. Being printed on glass, Orotone images are extremely fragile and often require specialized frames in order to prevent breakage. Other types of prints can be made with the same negative used to make an orotone. Consequently, silver gelatin prints and platinotypes (platinum, palladium) prints are also made by those who produce orotone prints.
Then and Now
The making of orotone prints was contemporary art in the early twentieth century. Orotones are often to be seen in interiors associated with the Arts and Crafts movementArts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
. Many of these orotones are by Seattle photographer Edward S. Curtis
Edward S. Curtis
Edward Sheriff Curtis was a photographer of the American West and of Native American peoples.-Early life:...
who produced hundreds of orotone photographs of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
during his career. Curtis developed the Curt-tone using techniques which he claimed were superior.
Curtis' Endorsement of the Orotone Process:
"The ordinary photographic print, however good, lacks depth and transparency, or more strictly speaking, translucency.We all know how beautiful are the stones and pebbles in the limpid brook of the forest where the water absorbs the blue of the sky and the green of the foliage, yet when we take the same iridescent pebbles from the water and dry them they are dull and lifeless, so it is with the ordinary photographic print, but in the Curt-Tones all the transparency is retained and they are as full of life and sparkle as an opal."
Sally Larsen
Sally Larsen
Sally Larsen is a artist, photographer, composer, and email advocate.She was born in 1954 in of mixed Apache / Aleut descent. She exhibits photographs, videos and paintings in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Honolulu, and Chicago...
(who gold-leafs each developed plate by hand) and Ryan Zoghlin
Ryan Zoghlin
- Biography :After gaining a solid technical background in photographic illustration from Rochester Institute of Technology, Ryan explored photography as an art form at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he received his BFA in photography and sculpture in 1991...
are modern practitioners of orotone photography.
