The Breaking Wave
<p>Trained as a painter before taking up photography around 1847, Gustave Le Gray was highly regarded for his composition as well as his technique. His seascapes, which were publicly exhibited in London and Paris in 1857 to great acclaim, displayed his technical mastery: he combined two negatives—one exposed for the sea, the other for the sky—to render a scene otherwise unable to be captured photographically. Moreover, Le Gray managed to arrest a breaking wave in this dramatic vertical image, an accomplishment almost unheard of at a time when exposures required several seconds. This photograph comes from an extremely rare album of Le Gray’s seascapes possibly assembled for a Spanish patron.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1857
- Dimensions
- Image/paper: 41.4 × 33.6 cm (16 5/16 × 13 1/4 in.); Album page: 64.5 × 50.8 cm (25 7/16 × 20 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Gustave Le Gray
Artist
Printmaking
Gustave Le Gray was a French photographer and painter who pioneered the use of collodion wet plate photography in the 1850s. He developed innovative printing techniques, particularly the waxed paper negative process, which allowed for greater tonal subtlety and archival stability. His seascapes and architectural photographs, made primarily between 1850 and 1860, are marked by dramatic skies and compositional precision that elevated photography to fine art status. Le Gray's technical innovations and aesthetic ambitions established foundations for photographic practice that extended well beyond his lifetime.
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More by Gustave Le Gray
Palazzo Carini, Palermo
1860 · Albumen silver print
Cavalry Maneuvers, October 3 from the album Memories of the Camp de Châlons under General Decaën
1857 · Albumen silver print from a wet-collodion glass negative
Untitled
1857 · Albumen print, from the album "Souvenirs du Camp de Châlons"
The Great Wave, Sète
1857 · Albumen print, No. 17 from the Vistas del Mar album
Setting the Emperor's Table from the album Memories of the Camp de Châlons under General Decaën
1857 · Albumen silver print from a wet-collodion glass negative
The Bathhouse of the Zouaves from the album Memories of the Camp de Châlons under General Decaën
1857 · Albumen silver print from a wet-collodion glass negative
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Gustave Le Gray
- Year
- 1857
- Dimensions
- Image/paper: 41.4 × 33.6 cm (16 5/16 × 13 1/4 in.); Album page: 64.5 × 50.8 cm (25 7/16 × 20 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1857-107302
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified