Gustave Le Gray
Mer Méditerranée–Cette–no. 18

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Artist Gustave Le GrayFrench, 1820–1884

CultureFrench

Titles

Mer Méditerranée–Cette–no. 18
Mediterranean Sea, Sète

Date1857

MediumAlbumen silver print from two glass negatives

DimensionsImage: 12 5/16 × 16 7/16 in. (31.3 × 41.7 cm)
Sheet: 12 5/16 × 16 7/16 in. (31.3 × 41.7 cm)
Mount: 12 3/8 × 17 1/2 in. (31.5 × 44.5 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Brown Foundation Accessions Endowment Fund, The Manfred Heiting Collection

Object number2004.563

Not on view

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Department

Photography

Special Collections

Manfred Heiting Collection of Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

DescriptionThe dramatic effects of sunlight, clouds, and water in Gustave Le Gray’s seascapes stunned his contemporaries and immediately brought him international recognition. At a time when photographic chemistry was not equally sensitive to all colors of the spectrum, most photographers found it impossible to achieve proper exposure of both landscape and sky in a single picture. Here, Le Gray solved this problem by printing two negatives on a single sheet of paper—one exposed for the sea, the other for the sky, perhaps made on separate occasions or even at different locations. Although the relationship of sunlight to reflection in this example was carefully considered and the two negatives skillfully printed, one can still see their join at the horizon. Le Gray’s marine pictures caused a sensation not only because their simultaneous depiction of sea and heavens represented a technical tour de force but also because the resulting poetic effect was without precedent in photography.
ProvenanceHarry Lunn Ltd., New York; Manfred Heiting from Mayer & Mayer, December 15, 1989.
Exhibition History"Passionate Vision: Celebrating the Life and Photographic Work of Beaumont Newhall," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Lower Brown Corridor and Coat Check Room Gallery, January 15-May 4, 2008.

“History of Photography I: Selections from the Museum's Collection,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, November 1, 2014–February 22, 2015.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Inscribed in pencil, recto, lower right corner of mount: A
Inscribed in pencil, recto, lower left corner of mount: 90:235
Inscribed in black ink, recto, center left side of mount: l'Escaut.

There is no evident signature.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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