Portrait of a man
Photograph
1850s (made)
1850s (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Also known as an ambrotype, the collodion positive was invented by F. Scott Archer in 1822, and was in widespread use by the mid-1850s. To produce a collodion positive, a sheet of glass is hand-coated with a thin film of collodion (guncotton dissolved in ether) containing potassium iodide, and sensitised to the light with silver nitrate to create a collodion negative. The back is then painted black or covered with a piece of dark cardboard or cloth in order to achieve the effect of a positive image.
This gilt-framed collodion positive shows a man wearing a hand-tinted blue neck scarf. Hand tinting was the first technique used to produce photographs, or parts of photographs, in colour. Hand tinting was first used in the early 1840s, and was achieved by washing prints in gold chloride solution at the final stage in the chemical process. Colour pigments were then applied in the form of liquid paint or an adhesive powder using precise brushwork.
This gilt-framed collodion positive shows a man wearing a hand-tinted blue neck scarf. Hand tinting was the first technique used to produce photographs, or parts of photographs, in colour. Hand tinting was first used in the early 1840s, and was achieved by washing prints in gold chloride solution at the final stage in the chemical process. Colour pigments were then applied in the form of liquid paint or an adhesive powder using precise brushwork.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Portrait of a man (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | collodion positive |
| Brief description | Anonymous collodion positive photograph, hand-tinted in a pinchbeck mount, depicting a portrait of a young man. Great Britain, ca. 1850s. |
| Physical description | Gilt framed portrait of a man looking to his half left, with a hand-tinted blue neck scarf. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Given by Mrs M. M. Southcombe |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Also known as an ambrotype, the collodion positive was invented by F. Scott Archer in 1822, and was in widespread use by the mid-1850s. To produce a collodion positive, a sheet of glass is hand-coated with a thin film of collodion (guncotton dissolved in ether) containing potassium iodide, and sensitised to the light with silver nitrate to create a collodion negative. The back is then painted black or covered with a piece of dark cardboard or cloth in order to achieve the effect of a positive image. This gilt-framed collodion positive shows a man wearing a hand-tinted blue neck scarf. Hand tinting was the first technique used to produce photographs, or parts of photographs, in colour. Hand tinting was first used in the early 1840s, and was achieved by washing prints in gold chloride solution at the final stage in the chemical process. Colour pigments were then applied in the form of liquid paint or an adhesive powder using precise brushwork. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 164-1944 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 4, 2008 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
