The Bromoil Process was a favorite of the Pictorialist photographers of the early 1900s, mainly because of its soft, painterly look and the freedom of expression it gave the artist. Typically, a Bromoil print has a soft-focus, grainy look, although there is a great deal of variation possible simply by how the materials are handled and the photographer’s personal approach.

A Bromoil print starts as a silver gelatin black and white photograph that is bleached and “tanned” until only a very faint image remains on the paper. The chemical tanning replaces the silver in the image. The print at this stage is called a matrix.

After the matrix is soaked in water, oil-based lithographic inks are applied with special brushes, made exclusively for the process. The soaking ensures that the gelatin retains water in proportion to its degree of tanning. The inks are repelled from the more heavily soaked areas (the highlights) and readily adhere to the areas less soaked (the shadows).

Since the image is “painted” on with the inks, each Bromoil print is unique and almost impossible to exactly duplicate. The freedom of expression of the process comes from the artist’s approach to inking the matrix; which brush and inks are used, and how the brushes and matrix are handled.

This variety of expression is evident in the images exhibited here, from the more “photographic” look - showing the long tonal range and detail—to the more soft and grainy look and on to whatever the mood of the image seemed to dictate.
Most of the images here where done in black ink only, but several where finished with a mix of softer inks in various colors (velvet black, brown, burnt sienna) to cover detail and enhance an overall grainy look.