Gabriel Lippmann's Colour Photography: Science, Media, Museums

Physicist Gabriel Lippmann's (1845–1921) photographic process is one of the oldest methods for producing color photographs, but his achievements remain mostly unknown outside niche circles. This book explores his interferential color photography, considering the emergence of this medium through three shaping forces: science, media, and museums. It reassesses Lippmann's reception in the history of science, analyzes color photographs as optical media, and focuses on the interferential plate as a material object in need of preservation and exhibition. It allows readers to get to know Lippmann, grasp the interdisciplinary complexity of his work, and expand his place in the history of photography.

Format: Hardback
Length: 314 pages
Publication date: 14 July 2022
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press

Physicist Gabriel Lippmann's (1845–1921) photographic process is one of the oldest methods for producing color photographs. So why do the achievements of this 1908 Nobel laureate remain mostly unknown outside niche circles? Using the centenary of Lippmann's death as an opportunity to reflect upon his scientific, photographic, and cultural legacy, this book is the first to explore his interferometric color photography. Initially disclosed in 1891, the emergence of this medium is considered here through three shaping forces: science, media, and museums.

A group of international scholars reassess Lippmann's reception in the history of science, where he is most recognized, by going well beyond his endeavors in France and delving into the complexity of his color photography as a challenge to various historiographies. Moreover, they analyze color photographs as optical media, thus pluralizing Lippmann photography's ties to art, cultural, and imperial history, as well as media archaeology. The contributors also focus on the interferometric plate as a material object in need of both preservation and exhibition, one that continues to fascinate contemporary analogue photographers. This volume allows readers to get to know Lippmann, grasp the interdisciplinary complexity of his colorful work, and ultimately expand his place in the history of photography.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789463728553