Gustave Le Gray
Encyclopedia
Jean-Baptiste Gustave Le Gray (August 30, 1820, Villiers-le-Bel
, Val-d'Oise
– July 30, 1884) has been called "the most important French photographer of the nineteenth century" because of his technical innovations in the still new medium of photography
, his role as the teacher of other noted photographers, and the extraordinary imagination he brought to picture making".
, Val-d'Oise
. He was originally trained as a painter
, studying under François-Édouard Picot
and Paul Delaroche. He even exhibited at the salon in 1848 and 1853. He then crossed over to photography
in the early years of its development.
He made his first daguerreotype
s by 1847. His early photographs included portraits; scenes of nature such as Fontainebleau
Forest; and buildings such as château
x of the Loire Valley
.
He taught photography to students such as Charles Nègre
, Henri Le Secq
, Nadar
, and Maxime Du Camp
. In 1851 he became one of the first five photographers hired for the Missions Héliographiques
to document French monuments and buildings. In that same year he helped found the Société Héliographique, the "first photographic organization in the world". Le Gray published a treatise on photography, which went through four editions, in 1850, 1851, 1852, and 1854.
In 1855 Le Gray opened a "lavishly furnished" studio. At that time, becoming progressively the official photographer of Napoleon III, he became a successful portraitist. His most famous work dates from this period, 1856 to 1858, especially his seascapes. The studio was a fancy place, but in spite of his artistic success, his business was a financial failure: the business was poorly managed and ran into debts. He therefore "closed his studio, abandoned his wife and children, and fled the country to escape his creditors".
He began to tour the Mediterranean in 1860 with the writer Alexandre Dumas, père
. They crossed the path of Giuseppe Garibaldi
, and Dumas enthusiastically joined the revolutionary forces with his fellow travelers. His striking pictures of Giuseppe Garibaldi
and Palermo
under Sicilian bombing became as instantly famous throughout Europe as their subjects. Dumas abandoned Le Gray and the other travellers in Malta
as a result of a conflict about a woman. Le Gray went to Lebanon
, then Syria where he covered the movements of the French army for a magazine in 1861. Injured, he remained there before heading to Egypt
. In Alexandria
he photogaphed Henri d'Artois and the future Edward VII of the United Kingdom
, and wrote to Nadar while sending him pictures. He established himself in Cairo
in 1864; he remained there about 20 years, earning a modest living as a professor of drawing, while retaining a small photography shop. He sent pictures to the universal exhibition in 1867 but they did not really catch anyone's attention. He received commissions from the vice-king Ismail Pasha. From this late period there remain a mere 50 pictures, some of them as beautiful as ever. He probably died in July 30, 1884, in Cairo
.
He was a successful portrait photographer, capturing figures such as Napoleon III and Edward VII of the United Kingdom.
He also became famous for his seascapes, or marine.
From the twenty years that he spent in Cairo there are few works.
In October 1999, Sotheby's
sold a Le Gray albumen print
"Beech Tree, Fontainebleau" for £419,500, which was a world record for the most expensive single photograph ever sold at auction, to an anonymous buyer. Later that day at the same auction, however, an albumen print of "Grande Vague, Sète" ("The Big Wave at Sète," "The Great Wave, Sète") also by Le Gray was sold for a new world record price of £507,500 or $840,370 to "the same anonymous buyer" who was later revealed to be Sheik Saud Al-Thani of Qatar
. The record stood until May 2003 when Al-Thani purchased a daguerreotype by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey
for £565,250 or $922,488.
Villiers-le-Bel
Villiers-le-Bel is a commune in the French department of Val-d'Oise, in the northern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the center of Paris.-Transport:...
, Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise is a French department, created in 1968 after the split of the Seine-et-Oise department and located in the Île-de-France region. In local slang, it is known as "quatre-vingt quinze" or "neuf cinq"...
– July 30, 1884) has been called "the most important French photographer of the nineteenth century" because of his technical innovations in the still new medium of photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, his role as the teacher of other noted photographers, and the extraordinary imagination he brought to picture making".
Biography
Gustave Le Gray was born in 1820 in Villiers-le-BelVilliers-le-Bel
Villiers-le-Bel is a commune in the French department of Val-d'Oise, in the northern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the center of Paris.-Transport:...
, Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise is a French department, created in 1968 after the split of the Seine-et-Oise department and located in the Île-de-France region. In local slang, it is known as "quatre-vingt quinze" or "neuf cinq"...
. He was originally trained as a painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, studying under François-Édouard Picot
François-Édouard Picot
François-Edouard Picot was a French painter during the July Monarchy, painting mythological, religious and historical subjects.-Life:Born in Paris, Picot won the Prix de Rome painting scholarship in 1813...
and Paul Delaroche. He even exhibited at the salon in 1848 and 1853. He then crossed over to photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
in the early years of its development.
He made his first daguerreotype
Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate....
s by 1847. His early photographs included portraits; scenes of nature such as Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
Forest; and buildings such as château
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
x of the Loire Valley
Loire Valley
The Loire Valley , spanning , is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. Its area comprises approximately . It is referred to as the Cradle of the French Language, and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, and artichoke, asparagus, and...
.
He taught photography to students such as Charles Nègre
Charles Nègre
Charles Nègre was a pioneering photographer born in Grasse, France. He studied under the painters Paul Delaroche, Ingres and Drolling before establishing his own studio at 21 Quai Bourbon on the Île Saint-Louis, Paris. Delaroche encouraged the use of photography as research for painting; Nègre...
, Henri Le Secq
Henri Le Secq
Henri Jean-Louis Le Secq was a French painter and photographer. After the French government made the daguerreotype open for public in 1851, Le Secq was one of the five photographers selected to carry out a photographic survey of architecture .-Early life:Henri Le Secq was born in 1818 in Paris and...
, Nadar
Nadar (photographer)
Félix Nadar was the pseudonym of Gaspard-Félix Tournachon , a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist and balloonist. Some photographs by Nadar are marked "P. Nadar" for "Photographie Nadar" .-Life: born in April 1820 in Paris...
, and Maxime Du Camp
Maxime Du Camp
Maxime Du Camp was a French writer and photographer.-Life:Born in Paris, Du Camp was the son of a successful surgeon. After finishing college, he indulged in his strong desire for travel, thanks to his father's assets...
. In 1851 he became one of the first five photographers hired for the Missions Héliographiques
Missions Héliographiques
Prosper Mérimée established the Missions Héliographiques in 1851 to supplement Monument historique a program he had established in 1837 to classify, protect and restore French landmarks. Mérimée, noted author of Carmen, served as France's Inspector General of Historical Monuments, and he hired...
to document French monuments and buildings. In that same year he helped found the Société Héliographique, the "first photographic organization in the world". Le Gray published a treatise on photography, which went through four editions, in 1850, 1851, 1852, and 1854.
In 1855 Le Gray opened a "lavishly furnished" studio. At that time, becoming progressively the official photographer of Napoleon III, he became a successful portraitist. His most famous work dates from this period, 1856 to 1858, especially his seascapes. The studio was a fancy place, but in spite of his artistic success, his business was a financial failure: the business was poorly managed and ran into debts. He therefore "closed his studio, abandoned his wife and children, and fled the country to escape his creditors".
He began to tour the Mediterranean in 1860 with the writer Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
. They crossed the path of Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
, and Dumas enthusiastically joined the revolutionary forces with his fellow travelers. His striking pictures of Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
and Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
under Sicilian bombing became as instantly famous throughout Europe as their subjects. Dumas abandoned Le Gray and the other travellers in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
as a result of a conflict about a woman. Le Gray went to Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, then Syria where he covered the movements of the French army for a magazine in 1861. Injured, he remained there before heading to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. In Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
he photogaphed Henri d'Artois and the future Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, and wrote to Nadar while sending him pictures. He established himself in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
in 1864; he remained there about 20 years, earning a modest living as a professor of drawing, while retaining a small photography shop. He sent pictures to the universal exhibition in 1867 but they did not really catch anyone's attention. He received commissions from the vice-king Ismail Pasha. From this late period there remain a mere 50 pictures, some of them as beautiful as ever. He probably died in July 30, 1884, in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
.
Technical innovations
His technical innovations included:- Improvements on paper negativePaper negativeThe paper negative process consists of using a negative printed on paper to create the final print of a photograph, as opposed to using a modern negative on a film base of cellulose acetate...
s, specifically waxing them before exposure "making the paper more receptive to fine detail". - A collodion processCollodion processThe collodion process is an early photographic process. It was introduced in the 1850s and by the end of that decade it had almost entirely replaced the first practical photographic process, the daguerreotype. During the 1880s the collodion process, in turn, was largely replaced by gelatin dry...
published in 1850 but which was "theoretical at best". The invention of the wet collodion methodCollodionCollodion is a flammable, syrupy solution of pyroxylin in ether and alcohol. There are two basic types; flexible and non-flexible. The flexible type is often used as a surgical dressing or to hold dressings in place. When painted on the skin, collodion dries to form a flexible cellulose film...
to produce a negative on a glass plate is now credited to Frederick Scott ArcherFrederick Scott ArcherFrederick Scott Archer invented the photographic collodion process which preceded the modern gelatin emulsion. He was born in Bishop's Stortford in the UK and is remembered mainly for this single achievement which greatly increased the accessibility of photography for the general public.tyler was...
who published his process in 1851. - Combination printingCombination printingCombination printing is the technique of using two or more photographic images in conjunction with one another to create a single image.Combination printing was popular in the mid-19th century due to the limitations of the negative's light sensitivity and camera technology...
, creating seascapes by using one negative for the water and one negative for the sky at a time where it was impossible to have at the same time the sky and the sea on a picture due to the too extreme luminosity range.
Works
Le Gray documented French monuments on a mission for the French government.He was a successful portrait photographer, capturing figures such as Napoleon III and Edward VII of the United Kingdom.
He also became famous for his seascapes, or marine.
From the twenty years that he spent in Cairo there are few works.
World records for most expensive photograph sold at auction, 1999-2003
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
sold a Le Gray albumen print
Albumen print
The albumen print, also called albumen silver print, was invented in 1850 by Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard, and was the first commercially exploitable method of producing a photographic print on a paper base from a negative...
"Beech Tree, Fontainebleau" for £419,500, which was a world record for the most expensive single photograph ever sold at auction, to an anonymous buyer. Later that day at the same auction, however, an albumen print of "Grande Vague, Sète" ("The Big Wave at Sète," "The Great Wave, Sète") also by Le Gray was sold for a new world record price of £507,500 or $840,370 to "the same anonymous buyer" who was later revealed to be Sheik Saud Al-Thani of Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
. The record stood until May 2003 when Al-Thani purchased a daguerreotype by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey
Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey
Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey was a French photographer and draughtsman who was active in the Middle East. His daguerreotypes are the earliest surviving photographs of Greece, Palestine, Egypt, Syria and Turkey...
for £565,250 or $922,488.
Books
- Le Gray, Gustave (translated by Thomas Cousins). A practical treatise on photography, upon paper and glass. London : T. & R. Willats, 1850.
- Le Gray, Gustave. Photographic manipulation: the waxed paper process of Gustave Le Gray. Translated from the French. London: George Knight and Sons, 1853.
Further reading
- Parry, Eugenia. The photography of Gustave Le Gray. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago and University of Chicago Press, 1987. ISBN 0226392104
- Aubenas, Sylvie. Gustave Le Gray, 1820-1884. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2002. ISBN 0892366729
- Aubenas, Sylvie. Gustave Le Gray. London and New York: Phaidon, 2003. ISBN 0714842346