The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 22, 2024

An Effect of the Sun, Normandy

An Effect of the Sun, Normandy

c. 1856
(French, 1820–1884)
Image: 32 x 41.8 cm (12 5/8 x 16 7/16 in.); Matted: 55.9 x 71.1 cm (22 x 28 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

Exploring the dramatic effects of sunlight, clouds, and water, Gustave Le Gray gained immediate recognition for his landmark photographs of the Mediterranean Sea and the English Channel taken between 1856 and 1858. At this time photographic emulsions were not equally sensitive to all colors of the spectrum, making it impossible to achieve a proper exposure for both sea and sky in a single image. Thus, for may of his seascapes Le Gray printed two negatives on a single sheet of paper, a technique called combination printing. One negative was taken of the water and the other of the sky. The overlap often apparent in such multiple negative images is not visible in this skillfully executed print.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 221
  • France at the Dawn of Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 4, 2009-January 24, 2010).
    Drawn with Light: Pioneering French Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 26-June 16, 2005).
    Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 24, 1996-February 2, 1997).
    Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).
    The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).
    Philadelphia Museum of Art, Nov. 17 - Dec. 28, 1969: "French Primitive Photography." Exhibition catalogue p. 47, repr. p. 47.
    CMA, February 24 - April 17, 1988: "Year in Review 1987," CMA Bulletin, 75 (February 1988), p. 67, no. 66, repr. p. 58-59.
    CMA, June 29 - August 26, 1990: "The World Seen Anew: English and French Photographs of the 1850's," Gallery D, no exhibition catalogue.
    CMA, June 7 - September 8, 1991: "Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum."
    CMA, November 20,1996 - February 2, 1997: "Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art."
    Galeries Mansart and Mazarine, Richelieu, France, March 19 - June 16, 2002: "Gustave Le Gray, 1820-1884." Aubenas, Sylvie. Gustave Le Gray, 1820-1884 (Gallimard: Bibliothèque nationale de France, 2002). (Also exhibited at The Getty Museum, Los Angeles, July 9 - Sept. 29, 2002). Catalogue no. 130. p. 110.
    Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 26 - June 16, 2005 . "Drawn with Light: Pioneering French Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art".
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (10/04/2009 - 01/24/2010); "France at the Dawn of Photography"
  • {{cite web|title=An Effect of the Sun, Normandy|url=false|author=Gustave Le Gray|year=c. 1856|access-date=22 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.54