Pictorialism was a photographic movement in vogue from around 1885 following the widespread introduction of the dry-plate process, and reached its height in the early years of the 20th century and declined rapidly after 1914. It largely subscribed to the idea that art photography needed to emulate the painting and etching of the time. Most of these pictures are black and white or sepia. Among the methods used were soft focus, special filters and lens coatings, heavy manipulation in the darkroom, and exotic printing processes. From 1898 rough-surface printing papers were added to the repertoire, to further break up a picture's sharpness. Some artists "etched" the surface of their prints using fine needles. The aim of such techniques was to achieve what the 1911 Britannica termed, in discussing Pictorialism, "personal artistic expression". Photography is the process of making pictures by means of the action of light. ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Etching is an intaglio method of printmaking in which the image is incised into the surface of a metal plate using an acid. ... Soft focus is a term used in photography and optics to describe a lens flaw. ... A darkroom is a given space, usually a separate area in a building or a vehicle, that is made dark so as to allow photographers to use light-sensitive materials to develop photographs and film. ... 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Despite the aim of artistic expression, the best of such photographs paralleled the impressionist style then current in painting and, looking back from the present day, we can also see close parallel between the composition and picturesque subject of genre paintings and the bulk of pictorialist photography. Impressionism was a 19th century art movement that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists who began publicly exhibiting their art in the 1860s. ...

The 1911 Britannica encylopedia noted that: "as a distinct movement pictorial photography is essentially of British origin", although in its later phases there was a strong influence on American photography. The Linked Ring and The New American School were notable organised tendencies in Pictorialism around 1900. An American circle of photographers later renounced pictorialism altogether and went on to found Group f/64, which espoused the ideal of unmanipulated, or straight photography. Group f/64 was created in 1932 by a circle of photographers espousing a common philosophy. ... Straight photography refers to photography that attempts to depict a scene as realistically and objectively as permitted by the medium, forsaking the use of manipulation both pre-exposure (e. ...

The contemporary American portraitist Sally Mann revisited the pictorialist style in her 2003 book What Remains. Sally Mann (born 1951 in Lexington, Virginia) is an American photographer. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

• Daum, Patrick (Ed.) Impressionist Camera: Pictorial Photography in Europe, 1888-1918 (2006). ISBN: 1858943310