Brig upon the Water
Artist
Gustave Le Gray
(French, 1820 - 1884)
Date1856
MediumAlbumen print
DimensionsImage and sheet: 12 5/8 × 16 inches (32.07 × 40.64 cm)
Mount: 19 1/2 × 22 inches (49.53 × 55.88 cm)
Mount: 19 1/2 × 22 inches (49.53 × 55.88 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation in honor of the 75th anniversary of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Object number2007.17.22
SignedOn image recto, lower right corner, stamped in red ink: "Gustave Le Gray"
Inscribednone
MarkingsBlindstamp on mount recto, bottom center: "PHOTOGRAPHIE / GUSTAVE LE GRAY & C / PARIS";
On mount verso, lower right, in pencil: "GLG9506".
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionImage of double-masted brigatine on a calm sea, with both skylight and rolling clouds overhead.Exhibition HistoryRotation 2. The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO. October 24, 2007 – March 19, 2008, no cat.
Magnificent Gifts for the 75th. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, February 13 - April 4, 2010, no cat.
Rotation 11. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, September 17, 2011 – March 18, 2012, no cat.
Impressionist France: Visions of Nation from Le Gray to Monet. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 19 October 19, 2013- February 9, 2014, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 16 - July 6, 2014, no. 103.
One of the most influential photographers of the 19th century, Gustave Le Gray was a fervent proponent of the medium's artistic potential. This work was first exhibited in 1856 and received both popular and critical acclaim. One of the earliest photographs successfully marketed to an art audience, it was printed in a relatively large edition. From a technical standpoint, Brig was a notable feat: it was made with an unusually rapid or "instantaneous" exposure and represented the careful combination of two negatives, one for the sea, another for the sky.
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Gustave Le Gray
1866
2015.20.12
