WEEKLY TRANSMISSION N°26
PORTRAITS OF GUSTAVE LE GRAY ON PAPER
V, detail
SUMMER QUIZ :
THURSDAY 30 JUNE 2016
PWT 26-2016 CONTENTS : Examination of a Le Gray Picture from Sirot collection Method, disproving/supporting evidence Timeline of Gustave Le Gray’s home and studio addresses Five early portraits of Gustave Le Gray by Henri Le Secq, 1848 Five portraits at Barrière de Clichy, 1849-1855 Three portraits at 35, Boulevard des Capucines and Ville d’Avray, 1856-1858 Two Silhouettes of Gustave Le Gray, 1851 Students of Gustave Le Gray or the First School for Creative Photography
III V VIII
1-5 6-10 11-13 14-15 20
V, detail
The e-bulletin presents articles as well as selections of books, albums, photographs and ancient documents as they have been handed down to the actual owners by their creators and by amateurs from past generations. The physical descriptions, attributions, origins, and printing dates of the books and photographs have been carefully ascertained by collations and through close analysis of comparable works. This essay presents a timeline of portraits of Gustave Le Gray. Only one, «V» will be offered in an auction on 10 November 2016 (Paris, Drouot, Binoche & Giquello).
N°26 : Portraits of Le Gray on paper
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III
30 June 2016
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Examination of a Le Gray Picture from Sirot collection The salt paper print represents the portrait of a young man in a dark coat, his feet have been cropped, some foxing, wet stamp: «Gustave Le Gray». The verso shows a few pencil inscriptions «Portrait de Gustave Le Gray par Lui-même», «Catalogue Un Siècle de vision nouvelle n°2», «premier cachet de Gustave Le Gray», «Ancienne collection Sirot, A.J.». Georges Sirot is an important name for photography collectors and Un siècle de vision nouvelle is a very early exhibition catalogue (organized by Jean Adhémar in BNF, 1955). A.J. are the initials of André Jammes. Sirot, Adhémar, Jammes, three names which are three good reasons to examine more precisely the rather modest photographic portrait.
JEAN ADHÉMAR. Un siècle de Vision nouvelle, Paris, BNF, 1955. Catalogue in-8, (2), 36, (2) pp, 226 notices, no illustration, notice n°2: «Gustave Le Gray par lui-même» (self portrait). The preface specifies : «Enfin, pour assurer une plus grande unité et ne pas montrer des épreuves pâlies, fatiguées, tachées, nous avons pris, à M. Sonthonnax, l’initiative de faire presque tout rephotographier dans un format uniforme par le service photographique de la Bibliothèque Nationale». Depuis soixante ans, combien de Sonthonnax, de rephotographeurs et de numériseurs pour le comfort de notre vision et de notre pensée ?
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IV
30 June 2016
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«Portrait de Gustave Le Gray par Lui-même», «Cat. Un Siècle de vision nouvelle n°2», «premier cachet de G.L.G.», «Anc. coll. Sirot, A.J.»
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V
28 April 2016
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Salt print, 210x170 mm, first Le Gray stamp on the left, retouching on the eyes and the hand.
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VI
30 June 2016
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Method, listing disproving/supporting evidence One exclusive piece of disproving or supporting evidence would be enough to conclude the examination. But such decisive evidence is not common in the field of early photography. We were able to prove the provenance and interview André Jammes about the portrait, its identification in pencil by Sirot, and its presence in the 1955 exhibition, so we can accept that Sirot, Adhémar and Jammes considered the portrait as being a self portrait of Le Gray. We were also able to trace precisely its provenance and verify it was never presented to the public since 1955 nor never reproduced. Nevertheless, this young man looks quite different from the best known portraits of Le Gray. Our method was to look for all known portraits of Gustave Le Gray on paper and then to list the specific details to check and propose as disproving/supporting evidences : — The eyes — The eyebrows — The ears — The hair and haircut — The cloths — The height and weight We found one oil painting (VII), thirteen photographic portraits (1-13), and two less precise silhouettes on paper (14-15). They are presented in chronological order afer a timeline of Gustave Le Gray’s addresses in Paris and the Levant. We also listed all friends and students of Gustave Le Gray, searching whether one of them could match the model better than GLG.
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VII
30 June 2016
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY BY HENRI LE SECQ. Rome, 1844. Oil on wood panel, 79x59 mm, Rouen Musée Lesecq des Tournelles.
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VIII
30 June 2016
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Timeline of Gustave Le Gray’s home and studio addresses 1847: ARRIVAL IN PARIS Gustave Le Gray returns from Rome with his Italian wife Palmira and two baby girls Eulalie (born 4 June 1845) and Myriam (born 2 August 1846). The first family home in Paris is at 27, quai des Grands Augustins, then, in the first months of 1849, they move to 110, rue de Richelieu, just one block away from Auguste Mestral’s appartment at 48, rue Vivienne, where a group of young men experiment with photographic processes. LATE AUTUMN 1849: 7 CHEMIN DE RONDE DE LA BARRIÈRE DE CLICHY After a cholera pandemic outbreak in Paris and the death of two young children, Myriam and just-born Julie, Gustave Le Gray moves with his wife and the only surviving daughter Eulalie to a more healthy location, just outside the limits of the city, at 7, chemin de ronde de la Barrière de Clichy (renamed 21, boulevard des Batignolles). Today, the original shape of the building is still to be found in the modern neighborhood. 1856: HOME AT THE BARRIERE OF CLICHY AND STUDIO NEAR THE OPERA With the financial support of Marquis de Briges, Gustave Le Gray opens an extraordinary studio in the penthouse of the new building at 35, boulevard des Capucines, which also can still be perceived in the perspective of rue Scribe. His wife, daughter Eulalie, son Auguste (born 9 March 1851) and maybe Lodoiska (born 18 December 1853) remain at Barrière de Clichy, joined by baby Eugène (born 7 September 1857). AUTUMN 1858: 35 BOULEVARD DES CAPUCINES Sudden death of Eulalie during summer of 1858, at Grandmother’s place, Villiers-le-Bel, whyle Gustave was in Normandy. Palmira, Auguste and Eugène, the surviving family move with Gustave to the elegant premises at 35, boulevard des Capucines. 1860: BANKRUPCY The Marquis de Briges had financed the photographic company up to 100,000 francs-or. After his death, his two sons agreed to follow on through a contract registered September 1858, but one year later they organise the bankrupcy of the photographic studio and buy it at a public auction. After a short stay at 15, rue Saint-Lazare, Gustave Le Gray leaves Paris, where Palmira maybe remains with their only 2 surviving sons (out of 7 children). She will leave for Rome with the younguest, Eugène, on July 1862.
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IX
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JUNE 1860: PALERMO Arrival on 9 June 1860 in Palermo, reception by Garibaldi and expedition to Catania. Le Gray realize a celebrated series of negatives in Palermo after the fights, and several famous portraits but cannot print them. All the negatives will be printed in Paris by a former student, Eugène Colliau, with the stamp, «Colliau et Costet photographes 89 rue Marcadet». Alexandre Dumas and his guests leave for Malta after four weeks in Sicily on 7 July. JULY 1860: MALTA At Valetta, Island of Malta, on 13 July 1860, a dispute leads Dumas to ask Gustave Le Gray and two young infortunate companions, Édouard Lockroy and David Albanel, to quit his vessel. A young actress, Émilie Cordier, who had join Dumas and the boat in Naples could be the origine of the dispute. The group will stay one month in Valetta before making their way to turbulent Lebanon. (In June, The war in Mount Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley had caused inter-communal tension throughout Ottoman Syria and the Ottoman Empire had agreed on 3 August to the dispatch of up to 12,000 European soldiers to reestablish order). AUGUST-DECEMBER 1860: BEYROUTH - DAMASCUS - BAALBECK 10 August 1860, arrival at Beyrouth. Le Monde Illustré will publish illustrations from Le Gray’s photographs during the first months of the presence of the French expeditionary force. On 17 September, on the road to Damascus, Le Gray got a leg broken. In Novembre, for a couple of week, he set up his photographic studio in the first floor of the Temple of Jupiter. 1861-1864 ALEXANDRIA Staying three and half years in Alexandria, Gustave Le Gray will practice photography in the Hotel de l’Europe, place des Consuls (renamed place Mohammed Ali). JULY 1864 - JULY 1884 TWENTY YEARS IN CAIRO July 1864, Gustave Le Gray moves from Alexandria to Cairo, settles in an old house, Aroussi Palace, near Esbekieh Square. He is appointed professor at the Polythechnique, until his death in 1884. During 20 years, Professor «Lûgrih» will teach the art of perspective to young officers. Gustave Le Gray will never return to Paris but he will have at least a contact with Auguste, his only surviving child : he gave from Egypt his paternal permission for his wedding on 20 Mai 1882, the mother having not been traced. His brother Eugène being disappeared in 1878, Auguste will be the sole heir when Le Gray died in Cairo on 29 July 1884. He left 322 glass negatives and a few paper negatives. It does not mean he created only 322 negatives rather that he could not afford more glasses, he could just clean and re-use them.
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Le Gray’s addresses
28 April 2016
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35, Boulevard des Capucines, after 1856 and Haussmann’s renovation
7, chemin de Ronde
110, rue de Richelieu 48, rue Vivienne
27, quai des Grands-Augustins
Lerebours
Colton, The Environs of Paris, c. 1849 (detail). Ile de la Cité is intact and medieval, PontNeuf still has shop built along it. Rue Vivienne is just being prolonged to the Boulevard, Les batignolles at Barrière de Clichy are simply empty, green and windy. Opera to be built.
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21 bd des Batignolles
2016 Map
28 April 2016
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3D Map of 2016 Paris, the walking distance between Barrière de Clichy and bd des Capucines is calculated 24 minutes, or 1,7 km through rue Scribe, rue Auber, rue de Dublin and rue de Moscou.
35 bd des Capucines Soon after Le Gray left, the passage SandriĂŠ and rue Basse-des-remparts were destroyed and rue Scribe opened with the magnificent facade of Grand Hotel, opened 30 June 1862. This view was taken from 35 bd des Capucines (photo C.H. Plaut, c.1864). Le Gray never saw what we can see now.
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30 June 2016
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY BY HENRI LE SECQ. Paris, c. June 1848. Salt print from a small paper negative. Published by Eugenia Parry, The Photography of Gustave Le Gray, 1987. Provenance: Henri Le Secq photographic Scrapbook (the location of that album is not a public information).
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2
30 June 2016
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY BY HENRI LE SECQ. Paris, c. June 1848. Salt print from a small paper negative. Published by Eugenia Parry, The Photography of Gustave Le Gray, 1987. Provenance: Henri Le Secq photographic Scrapbook, present location unknown.
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3
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY BY HENRI LE SECQ. Paris, c. June 1848. Salt print from a small paper negative, unique. Henri Le Secq photographic Scrapbook, published by Eugenia Parry, The Photography of Gustave Le Gray, 1987, present location unknown.
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4
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY BY HENRI LE SECQ. Paris, c. June 1848. Salt print from a paper negative, unique. Henri Le Secq photographic Scrapbook, published by Eugenia Parry, The Photography of Gustave Le Gray, 1987, present location unknown.
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY BY HENRI LE SECQ. Paris, c. 1848. Salt print from a paper negative, unique. Henri Le Secq photographic Scrapbook, published by Eugenia Parry, The Photography of Gustave Le Gray, 1987, present location unknown.
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6
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY WEARING A SMOCK. Paris, Barrière de Clichy, c. 1851. Salt print, 177x143 mm, from a paper negative. Published by Eugenia Parry-Janis, present location National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (Gift of Dorothy Meigs Eidlitz, 1968).
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7
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY possibly BY RAYMOND DE BÉRENGER (1811-1875). Paris, c. 1852. Salt paper print from a paper negative, 155x115 mm, oval shape. Published by Musée d’Orsay magazine Quarante-huit-quatorze, n° 22. Present location: Château de Sassenage (Isère).
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8
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY. Paris, Barrière de Clichy, 1854 ?. Salt print, 200x147 mm from a collodion negative, unique print (?), from Collection Sirot, present location: Bibliothèque Nationale.
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9
30 June 2016
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY BY ONE OF HIS STUDENTS (AVRIL ?). Paris, Barrière de Clichy, c. 1854. salt print from a paper negative, 138x83 mm. Unique print known, published (cropped) by Martin Becka, Le Gray inventeur de la photographie, 2002, actual location: QM, Doha.
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10
30 June 2016
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY BY ALPHONSE DE LAUNAY. Paris, Barrière de Clichy, c. 1854. Salt print 221x165 mm, from a glass negative, unique print found in a De Launay archive. Present location: Metropolitan Museum New York. Alphonse de Launay was then one of his students
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11
30 June 2016
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY, SELF PORTRAIT. Paris, Boulevard des Capucines, 1857. Albumen print, oval shape, 205x164 mm from a collodion negative, dated pencil, verso. Published by Raymond Lécuyer, Histoire de la photographie, 1945, page 59; actual location: SFP, Paris. Another print: Album Le Gray, Bibliothèque Nationale, reproduced online: photo-arago.fr.
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12
30 June 2016
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY WITH FOUR GENTLEMEN. Ville d’Avray, September 1858. Albumen print, size and present location unknown. Published in BNF Le Gray catalogue, 2002, ill. 186. This group portrait has been sometimes interpreted as an artist party, but the atmosphere is far from bohemian, and Le Gray looks tense and tired, contrasting with the Champagne bottle and the wealthy characters, who might be his sponsors.
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13
30 June 2016
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY’S VISITING-CARD. Paris, c. 1858. Albumen print from a colodion negative, cdv format, one print published by Eugenia Parry-Janis, present location unknown.
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14
30 June 2016
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY’S SILHOUETTE BY HIMSELF. Table de toilette de la duchesse de Parme, before it was sent to the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition, Paris, 1851. Salt print, 225x178 mm from a paper negative, unique. Ancienne collection Georges Sirot, actuellement BNF.
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15
30 June 2016
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY’S SILHOUETTE BY AUGUSTE MESTRAL. Abbaye Sainte-Marie, Arlessur-Tech, Mission héliographique, August 1851. Salt print, 350x254 mm from a paper negative, unique. Sold at auction on 19 March 2015, now private collection, Lichtenstein.
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Discussion on the identification of portrait «V» We compare points which could become pieces of disproving/supporting evidence : — The eyes — The eyebrows — The ears — The hair and haircut — The cloths — The height and weight
important retouching solarization and retouching solarization trace of glutinous pomatum for the hair similar see previous page
The face is rather solarized: the model has his shadow against the wall, but the light is so strong we can hardly make it out on the right. We found the use of bandoline, a pomatum for the hair, was rather common in Paris in the 1840s. We look for some portraits of GLG’s friends with bandoline. We still investigate what he is handling in his right hand. We conclude at the absence of points which could be proposed as decisive disproving evidence.
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY BY HENRI LE SECQ. Paris, July 1848. Salt paper print from a paper negative. Published by Eugenia Parry-Janis, present location unknown.
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The first school for creative photography : students of Gustave Le Gray
Henri Le Secq, Charles Nègre, Auguste Mestral, (Spring-Summer 1848) Joseph Fernand Boissard de Boisdenier, who moved in early April 1849 to barrière de Clichy Léon de Laborde and nephews, Édouard Delessert and Benjamin Delessert (Summer 1849) Maxime du Camp (lessons in October 1849) Édouard Bocher, friend of Alfred de Musset and related to Léon de Laborde, Firmin Eugène Le Dien, friend of brother Charles Bocher, Eugène Piot (lessons in 1849) Adolphe Bilordeaux, Victor Place, Olympe Aguado, member of Société Héliographique Marquis de Béranger, Odet de Montault, Comte du Manoir Vicomte Joseph Vigier, member of Société Héliographique (lessons before 1850) John B. Greene, Auguste Salzmann Félix Avril, August Oppenheim Emmanuel Peccarère (1850), Gabriel Tranchand (1852) Comte Joseph d'Haussonville, member of Société Héliographique Henry Sauvaire, Aimé Girard, Jules Clément, notaire honoraire, Vicomte Odet de Montault and mother-in-law Vicomtesse de Montbreton, Tranchant, naturalist artist Henri de Lattre Léon Méhédin, Léon Gérard le peintre Lodoïsch Crette Romet, who became Luigi Cretté William Henri Gebhard, from New York (former mysterious W. H. G.) Edwin Mayall, from London Gustave de Rothschild, La Beaume, le duc de Montesquiou, le comte Branitski, la comtesse d'Essertenne, Mlle Félicie Dosne, Mme Le Breton Badeigts de Laborde, Dumas de Lavince, Félix Nadar pays the lessons for his brother Adrien Tournachon (1853) Mugnier, from Cairo Courtais, victim of photographic experiments, Henri de La Blanchère, Édouard de Latreille, Léon Delaporte, Eugène Colliau* et Alexandre Janneau, *who will print the Palermo series Alphonse Delaunay At this date, comparing with known portraits of the male students, we could not find anyone in this list who could match better than GLG with the model.
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21
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY. Dramatic 1857 Family portraits with Palmira, Eulalie and possibly Lodoiska, 12 and 3 years old, Paris, 1857. Albumen prints, stamped and dated in pencil, verso, location: Société Française de Photographie. The two daughters would die c. 1858.
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22
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GUSTAVE LE GRAY. Mister Lûgrih, Alexandria, c. 1862. Albumen print, 98x57 mm, on a cdv mount, Le Gray’s Egyptian blind stamp. Le Gray’s studio in Alexandria was in the Hotel de l’Europe, the curtain is the same as in some portraits in the album of Prince Philipp of Belgium (BNF catalogue, ref 202g). This portrait will be the subject of a future transmission.
Number Twenty-Six, Second Season, of the Weekly Transmission has been uploaded on Thursday, 30th June 2016 at 18:15 (Paris time). Forthcoming uploads and transmissions on Thursdays : Thursday 7th July, Thursday 14th July, 15:15 (Paris time). serge@plantureux.fr
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