Page 30 - Studio International - July August 1975

manipulations' on to his photographic
plates: 'He scribbles and scrawls and
scratches on his plates in a manner to
which Mrs Käsebier's "stopping out"
processes, sprays, washes and baths are
mere child's play."
Photography was still seen through the
distorting mirror of painting. Steichen
underlined the kinship between
photographers and painters when he
wrote : 'One need not point to the sources
of influence to be found in the American
work, for Whistler and Alexander are as
much in evidence as are the old masters
and the Japanese. Yet is not the whole
movement in modern art similarly kin
to this influence ? If we in America have
felt this more keenly than others it is
because we have been more ready to be
receptive. We cannot realize that it
should seem strange that, if the
photographer is desirous also of being
artist, his work shall communicate the
James McNeill Whistler spirit of the painter.' Steichen had been
Symphony in White No 3 1867 out of focus, attempting to convey a criticized for using low tones in his early
Oil on canvas, 20½ x 30 1/8 in. sense of the atmosphere he felt in this work, and defended himself, explaining:
Barber Institute, Birmingham University muddy patch of woodland. The critic 'To some of us the lower tones have more
Charles Caffin wrote that in The Pool was of a tendency to make things beautiful
photographers had to come to terms with to be seen 'the personal ingredient, the than tones more brilliant, and hence the
the same problems which faced their thimbleful of artistic yeast that raises the repeated use of them ...Carrière, one of
European colleagues. It is interesting to lumpish dough. The real difference the greatest of modern French painters,
compare the Steichen photograph between this print and the average keeps all his pictures in a low brownish
reproduced here — The Pool — Evening, photograph is the same as that between key, using no pure whites or darks, and
Milwaukee from 1899 — with Davison's some paintings and the majority of them; blending his tones, he secures an exquisite
Pond at Weston Green, taken in the same the difference, indeed, between mere feeling of atmosphere and shrouds that
year and already discussed here. Both technical accomplishment and the same in a lovely sentiment.'34 It seems strange
photographs were hailed as quickened into vital expression by the that Steichen should single out the
`impressionist'. Demachy wrote of vital spirit of the artist — the difference, in work of Eugène Carrière — a painter whose
Steichen's print : 'His Pool is a marvel of a word, between craftsmanship and work is now comparatively forgotten —
true values and tone . . . The winter art.'" in support of his position. Maternité
scene, trunks of trees scarcely outlined, is The photographer triumphantly is a typical Carrière painting — a
pure impressionism, the study of the half claimed his place as artist on both sides monochromatic gauche, a colourless
frozen pool, quite Japanese."' of the Atlantic, to fanfares of critical sketch." This method of painting can be
Steichen, who described himself in these support. The battle had been won; related to the techniques developed by
early years (he was just 20) as 'an status had been gained. Some of the new the French academic painter Thomas
"impressionist" without knowing it', had artists still dropped artistic aitches in Couture, and at the same time can be
taken other moody landscapes by various distinguished company — Gertrude seen to bear more than a superficial
methods both contrived and accidental. Käsebier was not above producing mock- resemblance to sepia-toned photographs.
He exposed one plate when rain had Raphaels, just as Demachy was happy to The idea of a sketch-type finish was
fallen on his camera lens, diffusing the produce photographs of ballet dancers introduced into photographic work in
image, and on another occasion knocked Dans les Coulisses (the title he usually gave the 'nineties largely through Demachy,
his tripod whilst making a long exposure, them) in homage to Degas. The question who had close links with the Paris art
producing blurring due to camera shake. of manipulation was also a problem. It world. One could compare Demachy's
In The Pool, he has focused on the was reported that Frank Eugene had methods of brushing and washing out
foreground and so thrown the background introduced 'all sorts of furious pigmented gum during development with

Edward Steichen Robert Demachy Eugène Carrière
The Pool — Evening, Milwaukee t 899 Dans les Coulisses (noir) Maternité (Mere et enfant)
Photogravure Oil on transfer print Musée Rodin, Paris
Royal Photographic Society Royal Photographic Society