Gustave Le Gray
1820–1884 · France
Composing with sea and sky.
Explore 10 works ↓
Gustave Le Gray · 1856
Public domain · Artwork record
The story
Le Gray was a practitioner, teacher and experimenter in French photography in the 1850s. He worked on portraits, monuments, the forest of Fontainebleau and seascapes. Some of his sea views combine multiple negatives to resolve the difference between sky and water. His work brings technical invention into dialogue with composition, before his departure for the Mediterranean and a final period of activity in Egypt.
Understanding the work
Compare the patterns of clouds with those of waves. Photography is not only the recording of a moment: printing and combination can also construct a landscape.
Key works and series
Seascapes; forest of Fontainebleau; Mission héliographique.
Sources & further exploration
A journey through images.
10 worksClick an image to enlarge it. Captions, collections and reuse conditions appear below each work. Captions describe the photographs; the source records retain catalogue titles and provide context.
Gustave Le Gray · 1856
Public domain · Artwork record
Gustave Le Gray · 1859
Public domain · Artwork record
Gustave Le Gray · 1857
Public domain · Artwork record
Gustave Le Gray · 1857. 09/10/2017 for upload
Public domain · Artwork record
Gustave Le Gray · 1857. Imported on 31 October 2017
Public domain · Artwork record
Gustave Le Gray · 1852
Public domain · Artwork record
Gustave Le Gray · 1856
Public domain · Artwork record
Gustave Le Gray · circa 1851
CC0 · Reuse conditions · Artwork record
Gustave Le Gray · 1851
Public domain · Artwork record
Gustave Le Gray
Public domain · Artwork record
Works in collections.
10 recordsPhotographs to explore on museum and library websites, with titles, dates and processes. Each link opens the collection record and its image where one is available.
- MoMA · 1857
Untitled from the portfolio Souvenirs du Camp de Chalons
Albumen silver print from a wet-collodion glass negative
- MoMA · 1857
Cavalry Maneuvers, October 3 from the album Memories of the Camp de Châlons under General Decaën
Albumen silver print from a wet-collodion glass negative
- MoMA · 1857
Souvenirs du Camp de Chalons au General Decaen
Album of twenty seven albumen silver prints from wet-collodion negatives
- MoMA · 1857
The Bathhouse of the Zouaves from the album Memories of the Camp de Châlons under General Decaën
Albumen silver print from a wet-collodion glass negative
- MoMA · 1857
Setting the Emperor's Table from the album Memories of the Camp de Châlons under General Decaën
Albumen silver print from a wet-collodion glass negative
