Portraits on canvas from photos as a 19th-century portrait making technique

Abstract

The relationship between painting and photography has been dynamic since its invention in 1839. Seeking its place among the arts, photography was a useful tool for many. In this way portraits were made, which before the invention of photography were the privilege of higher social strata, and their production required spending long hours in a painting studio. With the advent of photography, portraits of individuals and entire families have become much more accessible to ordinary people, and the new technique has gained immense popularity. The possibility of getting portraits from photos as a status symbol was very tempting. In order to respond to such requests from clients, photographic studios teamed up with painters to create oil portraits painted from photography made on canvas. Such portraits became a substitute for classic painted portraits, but they were created faster and were less expensive. Often portraying important historical figures, they have found their place in museum collections. In addition to documentary value, they are also important for the history of art techniques, due to the specific way of production. Despite their popularity at the time of their creation, modern analyses of oil painted portraits made from photography on canvas are rare, and have been published mostly in conservation journals. After the introduction to the techniques and materials described in the literature, the paper presents two oil portraits from a photography made on canvas: a portrait of Isaija Oluić, abbot of the Krupa Monastery, from the fund of the Dalmatian Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, made by Vlaho Bukovac, and a portrait of Nika Mihajlović, prominent Sombor lawyer and philanthropist, from the fund of the City Museum in Sombor, painted by Uroš Predić. The analytical approach to the identification of oil painting techniques from photography (optical analysis and the analysis of materials) was pointed out, as well as the fact that they are sensitive objects in museum collections, the protection of which should be given due attention.