Figure 1 – Autochrome of Madame Curie from the Curie Archives and in the public domain in the US because of its age.

While writing yesterday’s blog about Marie Curie, it occurred to me that she lived during the autochrome era and that it was likely that somewhere there was a color image of her. Well, sure enough, and Figure 1 is such an autochrome from the Marie Curie archives. It is a bit antithetical since she is wearing a very feminine pink dress. She is pretty in pink.The straw hat is charming and humanizing as well. It is always curious when the color is revealed when we know someone basically in black and white. In a black and white the pink dress would have passed simply and somberly as white. Our surprise is revealing. We all live colored lives and every black and white captures, indeed transforms, a color moment. So here in the dramatic beauty of the process Marie is transformed. We are a bit closer to the real breathing person.