Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard
Encyclopedia
Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard (2 August 1802, Lille
– 28 April 1872, Lille
) was a French
cloth merchant by trade, but in the 1840s became a student of photography. He studied the Calotype
process, and in 1847 became the first person to publish the process in France. He developed a method of bathing the paper in solutions of potassium iodide
and silver nitrate
rather than brushing these chemical baths on the surface.
In 1850, he developed and introduced the albumen paper printing technique
, which became the staple process of the soon to be popular Carte de visite
. In 1851 in Lille
, France, with Hippolyte Fockedey, he started the Imprimerie Photographique, which was the first large scale printing company to employ a large number of employees. In the 1850s he was known for publishing other artists works, including John Stewart's views of the Pyrenees and Auguste Saltzmann's views of Jerusalem. His process for the calotype had the disadvantage of leaving a blank white sky and dark foreground, which lead to artist manipulating and using multiple negatives to add clouds to the sky and make the foreground more distinct. The problem with these manipulations was that often the clouds were taken in the morning and the foreground was taken in the afternoon.
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
– 28 April 1872, Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
cloth merchant by trade, but in the 1840s became a student of photography. He studied the Calotype
Calotype
Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. The term calotype comes from the Greek for 'beautiful', and for 'impression'....
process, and in 1847 became the first person to publish the process in France. He developed a method of bathing the paper in solutions of potassium iodide
Potassium iodide
Potassium iodide is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula KI. This white salt is the most commercially significant iodide compound, with approximately 37,000 tons produced in 1985. It is less hygroscopic than sodium iodide, making it easier to work with...
and silver nitrate
Silver nitrate
Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . This compound is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides...
rather than brushing these chemical baths on the surface.
In 1850, he developed and introduced the albumen paper printing technique
Albumen print
The albumen print, also called albumen silver print, was invented in 1850 by Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard, and was the first commercially exploitable method of producing a photographic print on a paper base from a negative...
, which became the staple process of the soon to be popular Carte de visite
Carte de visite
The carte de visite was a type of small photograph which was patented in Paris, France by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854, although first used by Louis Dodero...
. In 1851 in Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, France, with Hippolyte Fockedey, he started the Imprimerie Photographique, which was the first large scale printing company to employ a large number of employees. In the 1850s he was known for publishing other artists works, including John Stewart's views of the Pyrenees and Auguste Saltzmann's views of Jerusalem. His process for the calotype had the disadvantage of leaving a blank white sky and dark foreground, which lead to artist manipulating and using multiple negatives to add clouds to the sky and make the foreground more distinct. The problem with these manipulations was that often the clouds were taken in the morning and the foreground was taken in the afternoon.