Leon Van Loo
Encyclopedia
Born 12 August 1841, in Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
in 1858, when he opened a photography gallery. After doing well in the cotton trade after the Civil War, he retired early in 1866. He subsequently spent time travelling to Europe and collecting art, which he displayed in Cincinnati. In 1890, he was a founding member of the Cincinnati Art Club, of which he served twice as president.
In 1875 he introduced a new kind of photography he called "ideal." Photographs using this technique are printed on zinc oxide
Zinc oxide
Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula ZnO. It is a white powder that is insoluble in water. The powder is widely used as an additive into numerous materials and products including plastics, ceramics, glass, cement, rubber , lubricants, paints, ointments, adhesives, sealants,...
applied to blackened sheet-iron and present a pearly, transparent surface.
Van Loo died on 10 January 1907.