Gustave Le Gray

Gustave Le Gray was a French photographer often called the most important French photographer of the nineteenth century. Born in 1820, he trained as a painter before taking up the new art of photography, to which he made major technical contributions. He is especially famous for his dramatic seascapes, in which sea and sky are combined with striking effects of light on water.

To achieve his glowing skies and shining seas he pioneered clever techniques, sometimes combining two negatives in a single print. His images of ships, waves, and clouds amazed audiences with their beauty and realism. Le Gray's technical brilliance and artistic vision helped raise photography to the level of fine art.