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From just over a paved walkway running alongside a river, we look across the placid water toward a bridge spanning two banks of an elegant city in this horizontal, sepia-toned photograph. Printed in warm, rich tones of brown and ivory, the horizon line comes almost halfway up the composition. A few low, blocky barges and boats line the smooth river in front of us and along the opposite bank. The span of the bridge ahead of us is supported by three shallow arches with circles in descending sizes where the arches meet the pillars and the flat top of the bridge deck. A long building with rows of windows leading to a high peaked roof runs parallel to the river to our right. More buildings face the river to our left in the distance. A few shadowy forms near the left edge of the photograph, close to us, were created as people moved during the long exposure time needed for the image.

Gustave Le Gray

The Pont du Carrousel, Paris: View to the West from the Pont des Arts, 1856-1858

Not on View

Medium

albumen print

Dimensions

sheet: 37.8 x 48.8 cm (14 7/8 x 19 3/16 in.)
overall: 55.9 x 71.1 cm (22 x 28 in.)

Credit Line

Patrons' Permanent Fund

Accession Number

1995.36.94

Artists / Makers

Gustave Le Gray (artist) French, 1820 - 1884

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Provenance

David and Mary Robinson, Sausalito, CA; NGA purchase, 1995.

Associated Names

Fraenkel Gallery
Robinson, Mrs. C. David

Exhibition History

1995: Seeing Things, Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, 1995.

1995: The First Century of Photography: New Acquisitions, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1995.

2013: Impressionist France: Visions of Nation from Le Gray to Monet, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, 2013 - 2014, no. 9.

2015: In Light of the Past: Celebrating Twenty-Five Years of Collecting Photographs at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, May 3 – July 26, 2015

Bibliography

1982: Pare, Richard. Photography and Architecture: 1839-1939. Exh. cat. Centre Canadien d'Architecture. Montreal, Canada, 1982, p. 224, illus.pl.12.

1987: Janis, Eugenia Parry. The Photography of Gustave Le Gray. Exh. cat. The Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, 1987, pl.32.