Cliché Verre

Henrieke Strecker

The Process


Cliché verre (French for "glass picture" or "glass print") is a hybrid art technique that combines elements of drawing, painting, and printmaking, often considered an early form of photographic reproduction. The process involves creating an image on a transparent surface (traditionally glass, though plastic or film can be used) and then printing it onto light-sensitive paper, similar to a photographic negative.


The technique was first developed in the mid-19th century. Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Charles-François Daubigny, and other members of the Barbizon School used cliché verre as a way to reproduce and experiment with drawings.


Printing a cliché verre image on silver gelatin paper merges 19th-century creativity with darkroom photography techniques. 

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