The world in colour

Julie Laurberg was one of the first in the country to take colour photographs. She had gotten the plates from the Lumière brothers in Paris

Julie Laurberg was not only a pioneer in the field of film. She was among the first in Denmark to produce colour photography, the so-called autochromes. There were three colour grains on the plate, red, green and blue, and this resulted in some very beautiful images on glass. It was the Lumière brothers in Paris who put the plates into production in 1907. They were difficult to get hold of, and it is surprising in itself that Laurberg succeeded.

One of Denmark's first color photographs. The Glyptotek in Copenhagen photographed by the pioneer Julie Laurberg. — One of Denmark's first colour photographs. Glyptoteket in Copenhagen photographed by the pioneer Julie Laurberg.
Photo: Laurberg og Gad

As early as 1907, the newspaper "København" could tell that she was working on the new technique. On August 6, the journalist wrote that Laurberg had photographed two ladies at a table and some vases with flowers of all colours.

Two days later "Nationaltidende" followed up with a longer article about colour photography or "photochromy", as it was called. Here, the journalist called Laurberg's pictures "little glass paintings" and wrote about how the women have had to sit still for two minutes. Some time had to pass before snapshots in colour could be taken. There is no mention of roses in a vase, so the beautiful picture may have been taken later.

Julie Laurberg's photograph of roses with drooping heads. A jewel in the collection, especially when the glass plate is viewed against the light.
Photo: Laurberg og Gad

Photographs were not considered art, but there was great interest in the medium as a new technical phenomenon. There were large rooms with photographs at the Nordic Industrial, Agricultural and Art Exhibition in 1888, and Julie Laurberg exhibited here. There was also great enthusiasm for new achievements in photography at the World's Fairs of the time, which were a celebration of industry and technology. It was something Danish photographers followed, and many of them exhibited their pictures. Julie Laurberg thus took photographs to the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900. Here Julie Laurberg even received a medal for her work.

The entrance to the World's Fair in Paris in 1900. — More than 50,000 million people visited the World Exhibition in Paris in the year 1900.
Photo: Laurberg og Gad

Laurberg and Gad in Digital collections

Royal Danish Library has a collection of 4,400 negatives by Julie Laurberg and Franziska Gad. It has been digitised and made available in Digital Collections. Here you can also find many paper images, both portraits and architectural images, from Laurberg and Gad's studio.