“The Exiles” a sketch by John W. Ehninger in mid to late 1800s
Toronto. Being a small journal, we get/ask members to contribute. One fine contribution was that of the late Thomas Ritchie from Ottawa. His article on a photographic process is titled, “AUTOGRAPH ETCHINGS – John Ehninger’s New Application of Photographic Art”.
Like many artists, Ehninger used photography to capture scenes he chose to paint – an idea that predates 1839. In fact, the idea of capturing scenes for later painting his dioramas was what prompted Louis Daguerre to join forces with Nicéphore Niépce in the late 1820s. The other famous individual tied to photography was Henry Fox Talbot, also an artist (an amateur who used watercolour).
Many artists were also illustrators. What set Ehninger apart was his unique ideas on using photography to further line drawings (illustrations). In fact he went so far as to write and see published a book on his unique process called ‘Autograph Etchings’.
Thomas Ritchie used a number of more recent articles on Ehninger and his process, beginning his own article, “American artist John W. Ehninger, born in New York in 1827, graduated from college at age 20 and went to Europe where for six years he studied painting in Germany, France and Italy.
“Well-trained as an artist and illustrator he returned to New York where his exhibitions at the National Academy of Design earned him recognition and membership in the Academy.
“If Ehninger knew nothing about photography before his visit to Europe, he probably learned about it from artists there, particularly in France where many painters used photographs to lay out their work and as records of topography, costumes and room furnishings for future paintings.
“Some artists even painted from photographs, a practice that helps artists of the present day. Eugene Delacroix, Jean François Millet, Jean Corot and other French artists combined their art with photography to produce what became known as cliché-verre.
“Using a sheet of glass coated with paint or other suitable material as his ‘canvas’, the artist scratched his drawing on the surface with a stylus, removing a fine line of the coating with each pass of the stylus. The glass plate then served as a photographic negative, the print made from it showing dark lines where the coating had been removed, thus recording the artist’s design on the paper.
“By using the negative again, he could reproduce his drawing any number of times; thus he had an alternative to the more complicated and time-consuming engraving and etching methods of reproducing a drawing.” …
Members read all of Mr Ritchie’s article in the issue 24-3 pdf file on the free members-only DVD/thumb drive. See above or at left to join. Send your questions on to Lilianne at member@phsc.ca.
Of course you must visit our 2025 events to find goodies to add to your personal collection. Our famous annual trunk sale (rain or shine) is this coming July 13th.
