Heinrich Kühn
Walter und Lotte an der Staffelei

ArtistAustrian, 1866–1944
CultureAustrian
Titles
  • Walter und Lotte an der Staffelei
  • Walther and Lotte at the Easel
Date1909
MediumGum bichromate print
DimensionsImage: 18 1/4 × 13 1/8in. (46.4 × 33.3cm)
Sheet: 18 3/4 × 14 1/8 in. (47.6 × 35.9 cm)
Credit LineThe Sonia and Kaye Marvins Portrait Collection, museum purchase funded by Sonia and Kaye Marvins
Object number84.797
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Special Collections
Object Type
Description

Among the tenets of the
"aesthetic" or Pictorialist photography was the idea that the subject
and the manner in which it was depicted should be artistic (as defined by
traditional and academic art circles) and not merely a record. In other words,
typical themes for representation would be landscapes, genre scenes, and intimate
portraiture presented in a way that resembles one of the "higher arts"
such as painting or drawing. Popular methods for achieving these effects included
alternative photographic media such as gum bichromate, bromoil, and
oil-transfer printing, which allowed for direct artistic intervention (areas of
the print could actually be painted out during production). With its intimacy
and technique, this charming gum print of Kuhn’s children is representative of
these Pictorialist aesthetics. Kuhn is perhaps best known for his masterly
control of the gum bichromate process, which in its various guises can mimic a
lithograph, a watercolor, or a mezzotint.




Provenance[Sotheby & Co., London]; purchased by MFAH, 1984.
Exhibition History"The Family," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 29–August 6, 1989.

"Heinrich Kuhn: The Perfect Photograph," Albertina, Vienna, June 11–September 12, 2010; Musee National de l'Orangerie, Paris, October 19, 2010–January 23, 2011; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 6–May 30, 2011.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Wiese in Birgitz (Hans und Mary sitzend)
Heinrich Kühn
c. 1908
Gum bichromate print
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[Edeltrude and Hans]
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no date
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2023.634
Hans
Heinrich Kühn
c. 1908
Gum bichromate over platinum print
2004.558
Walther
Heinrich Kühn
c. 1905
Gum bichromate over platinum print
2004.557
Nacktes Paar
Heinrich Kühn
c. 1907
Gum bichromate print
2004.553
Morgentoilette (Mary Warner)
Heinrich Kühn
1907
Gum bichromate print
2004.550
Rider, Standing
Heinrich Kühn
c. 1909
Gum bichromate over platinum print
2004.556
Sommertag
Heinrich Kühn
1898
Gum bichromate print
2004.547
Edeltrude
Heinrich Kühn
c. 1907
Gum bichromate over platinum print
2004.552
Vier Kinder, Sonnensehen
Heinrich Kühn
1913
Gum bichromate over platinum print
2004.545
Study in Tonal Values II
Heinrich Kühn
c. 1908
Gum bichromate over platinum print
2004.551
Walther I
Heinrich Kühn
c. 1908
Gum bichromate over platinum print
2004.554