Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
An Effect of the Sun, Normandy
About the Artwork
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.
Inscriptions
Written in red ink on recto: "Gustave Le Gray"; on label on recto: "All titles Effet du [sic] Soleil Ocean No. 23"
Exhibition history
The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988). Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991). 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). 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). France at the Dawn of Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 4, 2009-January 24, 2010).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Gustave Le Gray (French, 1820–1884)
- Date
- c. 1856
- Medium
- albumen print from wet collodion negative
- Dimensions
- 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.)
- Type
- Photograph
- Classification
- Photograph
- Department
- Photography
- Credit line
- Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
- Accession no.
- 1987.54
More by Gustave Le Gray in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00000370
Powered by Art Trackers