Color from the Sun. The autochrome plate.

Patrick Lenaghan and Mariola Gómez Lainez

ISBN: 978-84-95241-71-9

Year: 2010

Pages: 208

Illustrations: 125

Binding: hardcover with dust jacket

Size: 23.5 x 30 cm

Published by: New York, The Hispanic Society; Madrid, Fotowatio and Ediciones El Viso

The first publicly accessible color photograph originated with a simple potato seed and was commercially available in 1907, thanks to the ingenuity of the Lumière brothers, creators of the cinematograph. This pioneering book in Spain, published two years after the centenary of the invention, focuses on autochrome plates taken by Spanish photographers, both professional and amateur, and also includes a selection of plates taken by foreign photographers sent by institutions such as The Hispanic Society, National Geographic, and the Albert Kahn Foundation. In addition to the images, the book presents three essays that address the history of the autochrome plate, its technical secrets, and specific aspects such as its use at the Hispanic Society and color photography in Spain. The quality of the images, their vibrant colors, and the pointillist air given to them by the potato seed allow us to rediscover this photographic process that had been forgotten by historians.