DescriptionThe dramatic effects of sunlight, clouds, and water in Le Gray's seascapes stunned his contemporaries and immediately brought him international recognition. At a time when photographic emulsions were 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. 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, and sometimes made on separate occasions or in different locations. 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.

ProvenanceJohn Goldsmith Phillips, Palm Beach

Signatures, Inscriptions, and MarkingsInscriptions: Facsimile signature stamp in red ink on print, recto, bottom left: "Gustave Le Gray"; blindstamp on mount, recto, bottom center: "PHOTOGRAPHIE // GUSTAVE LE GRAY & C// PARIS [encircled]"