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The Great Wave, Sète
le gray, gustave, born 1820 - died 1884 - Enlarge image
The Great Wave, Sète
- Object:
Photograph
- Place of origin:
France (made)
- Date:
1857 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
le gray, gustave, born 1820 - died 1884 (photographer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Albumen print from two collodion-on-glass negatives
- Credit Line:
Townshend Bequest
- Museum number:
68:004
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C, case MB2A, shelf DR81, box LOANS
This print, the most dramatic of his seascapes, combines Gustave Le Gray's technical mastery with expressive grandeur. He photographed the view on the Mediterranean coast near Montpellier on the southern coast of France. At the horizon, the clouds are cut off where they meet the sea. This indicates the join between two separate negatives. The combination of two negatives allowed Le Gray to achieve tonal balance between sea and sky on the final print. It gives a more truthful sense of how the eye, rather than the camera, perceives nature.
