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LA VIE EN COULEUR
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THE CENTENARY OF THE AUTOCHROME
2004 – 2007
Free Exhibition in open-air
June 25 - october 15 2004
Hôtel du Département
[29-31 cours de la Liberté Lyon 3ème]
The Autochrome was patented on 17 December 1903 but not unveiled to the Academy of Science until 30 May 1904, which is why its centennial is celebrated in 2004.
The start of the 20th century saw thousands of photographs being taken all over the world using this transparency process, which Louis Lumière considered to be his masterpiece.
This open-air exhibition features largesize reproductions of many Autochromes, all of which are from the original Lumière Collection, with the aim of making them accessible to the general public. The photographs include a variety of family scenes and also a number of shots given to Louis Lumière by Autochrome-using friends, such as pictures of the Great War taken by Jean-Baptiste Tournassoud.
The Lumière Institute is located on the site where the Cinematographe and the Autochromes were invented. Its mission, as entrusted by Louis Lumière’s heirs, is to promote this heritage and bring it to the attention of the whole world.
The Lumière Institute joined forces with the Rhône Regional Authorities to design this exhibition as a way of paying tribute to the first-ever colour photographs in the department where they were invented.
THE HISTORY OF THE AUTOCHROME
Louis Lumière had already invented instant photographic plates and the Cinematographe when, in late 1903, he and his brother Auguste patented a new process for producing colour photographs : the Autochrome.
Before the invention of the Autochrome, colours were separated using a complex three-colour process whereby three successive exposures had to be taken and then superimposed onto each other. Louis Lumière, however, devised a method of filtering light by using a single three-colour screen made up of millions of grains of potato starch dyed in three different colours. This mixture was then laid out on a varnished glass plate, which would be ready for use once it was coated in a black and white emulsion. Developing the plate entailed applying the same process as was used for black and white photographs at the time, with the impression being processed to reversal.
As with pointillist painting, the colour effect is rendered by viewing the image in its entirety, since the colours are created from the juxtaposition of the multitude of dots; indeed, the essential charm of these photographs derives from that very juxtaposition.
Finally, in 1907, after years of work, the Autochrome was launched onto the market and met with immediate and longlasting success – it was to be another thirty years before anything else came along to compete with it, and that was when chemical colour processes were devised to do on film what this delicate transparency process did on glass.
As the grand-children of Louis Lumière, we are delighted to see this exhibition presented at the Departmental Hall, which is a most fitting way of launching the celebration of the centennial of the Lumière Autochrome.
Our grand-father often used to tell us that he considered the Autochrome to be the invention of his life, saying: "It took me seven years of tireless effort. I did nothing else during that time. I never once got disillusioned."
While it only took him a few months to develop his Cinematographe and project moving images on to a screen, producing colour photographs proved to be a much more tricky proposition. He devoted enormous time and energy to his creation, and the fruit of his labours did justice to his commitment: even today, there can be no denying the indescribable beauty and technical splendour of the photographs made possible by the Autochrome. It was invented in 1904, and when it hit the markets in 1907 it brought colour photography within the reach of everyone.
From a personal point of view, we are deeply touched to see so many family scenes and portraits among the images on display, including pictures of our mothers and those that were dear to them. We hope that the people who come to admire this exhibition will savour the beauty of a superb technique and appreciate a looking through a window on times gone-by.
Louis Lumière’s grand-children
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