Karel Šmirous

Who was Karel Šmirous?

Karel Šmirous was Czech scientist and the only Czech photographer who specialized in color photography using the autochrome process.

Karel Šmirous took his first black-and-white photographs at the age of 12. After leaving high school, he wanted to become a painter; however, his father decided that he should study chemistry. During his studies at Czech Technical University in Prague from 1908–1912, he became aware of autochrome, and began his lifelong interest in color photography. His photograph of Český Krumlov, taken in 1908, and published by Minerva in 1910, was the first known Czech color postcard using autochrome.

Back in Český Krumlov, Šmirous worked with local photographer Josef Seidel. With him, he photographed Český Krumlov and the mountain area of Šumava, where he photographed nature in color, especially the Boubín primeval forest. His sense of art composition was also influenced by his mother, who had herself studied painting with Amálie Mánesová, sister of famous painter Josef Mánes.

Šmirous gained further experience in Germany and France, and his chemistry studies, specializing in color dyes, allowed him to experiment with color printing techniques.