immerse yourself in the art of cyanotype, an alliance of nature and photography, when the blue becomes intense

Do you know the cyanotype? A unique process inherited from the beginnings of photography, halfway between chemistry and graphic art, which focuses on the intensity of blue. Anne-Catherine Verwaerde lets you discover it in the show “Interiors”, Saturday January 11, 2025 at 12:55 p.m.

Cyanotype is an ancient photography process, one of the very first, where the sun acts as a camera. The technique dates back to 1842, when British scientist John Herschel developed a process using ferric salts exposed to sunlight to print images on a blue background. But the scientist only used his find to duplicate working documents.
It was an English botanist and illustrator, Anna Atkins (1799-1871), who created the first cyanotype reproductions, revealing the silhouette of algae that she wanted to preserve, in 1843. She became famous and created hundreds of cyanotypes to illustrate its numerous herbaria and document algae and marine plants.

ALSO READ: From waide to Amiens blue, she tells us about her passion for plant color

Nature lover, Emilie Lacourartist and craftswoman, launched into the art of cyanotype in 2018, in her small workshop in Lyon. She finds the raw material in nature. These are flowers and leaves, bird feathers, which she dries in typography racks. She can reuse her plants and objects at will, because the cyanotype process does not damage them.

Here are the stages of production recommended by the artist.

Step 1 : this is the operation of sensitizing the support, most often a thick, water-resistant watercolor paper. A solution composed of two chemicals, which are non-toxic and non-polluting, is applied to it, potassium ferricyanide and the ferric ammonium citrate. However, be careful when using with young children, ingestion and inhalation are dangerous. The combination of the two products, in equal quantities, applied with a brush, makes the paper photosensitive, that is to say sensitive to ultraviolet. The supports must be allowed to dry in the dark. Once dry, they turn a yellow-green color.

Step 2 : we place objects, flowers or others on the sheets of paper impregnated with products, then we place a glass plate on top to hold them.

Step 3 : we expose the plates to the sun for several minutes, to give the products time to react.

Step 4 : to reveal and fix the final image, on an intense blue background, simply dip the support in a water bath, as for the final stage of developing film photographs.

The finalized cyanotype takes on its “Prussian blue” color in approximately 24 hours.

Each creation is unique and allows children and adults alike to express their creativity.

READ ALSO: “A meeting at the most intimate of fabric”, a magician of natural color introduces us to the blue of Amiens

The cyanotype is experiencing renewed interest today, both because of its simplicity and its unique aesthetic, both in crafts and decoration and in contemporary art.

Ferns, thin branches, leaves and flowers are classic figures of cyanotyopes. We can also think of prints of shells, starfish and algae for decoration with a marine atmosphere. Everyday objects (keys, scissors, kitchen utensils, toys, etc.), textured materials (lace, nets, etc.), stencils or simple shapes cut out of paper (stars, hearts, silhouettes) easily replace things found in nature and open up to great creativity . The shapes of the hands placed on the support exposed to the sun delight children.

You can also choose alternative supports, such as wood, pebbles, pieces of metal, to create original objects with the cyanotype technique. The ultimate example is the personalized T-Shirt. The key is to rinse the support well with clean water to fix the final image.

To go further:

“Interiors”, every Saturday at 12:55 p.m.

Find Anne-Catherine Verwaerde and her whole gang in the show Interiors, every Saturday at 12:55 p.m. on France 3 Hauts-de-France, we shop, learn DIY tips and discover nuggets to decorate our interiors.