{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O91062"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O91062/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AH2029/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AH2029/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AH2029","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O91062/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O91062","accessionNumber":"67995","objectType":"Photograph","titles":[{"title":"The Brig","type":"assigned by artist"}],"summaryDescription":"<i>The Brig</i> was Le Gray’s first exhibited seascape and his most highly praised. Its appeal derives largely from the poignancy of the little ship seen alone against an immensity of sea and sky. It was enthusiastically greeted in the photographic press for its technical accomplishment, capturing light and atmosphere, and was widely exhibited at Photographic Society exhibitions in Britain and France. <i>The Brig</i> became probably the most famous photographic image in Europe during the late 1850s and 1860s. It may also be the first example of a photograph conceived as fine art to achieve both commercial success and critical admiration. The London photographic dealers Murray & Heath reported 800 prints being ordered within the first two months of its being offered for sale. To facilitate printing of such numbers, copy negatives of the original image were made.\r\n\r\nLe Gray made a series of seascapes that was famous for capturing dramatic lighting and weather conditions. He used glass negatives that were the same size as his photographs (around 40 x 30 cm). He placed the negative directly on top of photographic paper and printed in sunlight. The prints were then toned in a solution of gold chloride in hydrochloric acid. This resulted in a rich, violet-purple colour and had the added benefit of stabilising the images to help them withstand fading over time. \r\n\r\nMost of the V&A’s fine group of Le Gray seascapes came to the Museum in 1868 as part of the bequest of the millionaire art collector Chauncy Hare Townshend. He had kept them in portfolios along with his watercolours, etchings and engravings. They have therefore remained in excellent condition, preserved to museum standards almost since they were made.","physicalDescription":"Photograph of a ship at sea","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Le Gray, Gustave","id":"A6509"},"association":{"text":"photographer","id":"AAT25687"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[],"techniques":[{"text":"Albumen silver process","id":"AAT133274"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Albumen print from collodion-on-glass negative","categories":[{"text":"Photographs","id":"THES48910"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"PDP","id":"THES48595"},"images":["2006AH2029"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"LVLH","id":"THES49654"},"free":"","case":"DELTA","shelf":"3","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"photograph","id":"AAT46300"}],[{"text":"albumen print","id":"AAT127121"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"France","id":"x28849"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1856","earliest":"1856-01-01","latest":"1856-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Bequeathed by Chauncey Hare Townshend","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"355","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"sheet size","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"450","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"sheet size","note":""},{"dimension":"Height","value":"324","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"image size","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"409","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"image size","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"19thC, Townshend Bequest; Le Gray, Gustave. Brig on the Water, 1856","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Hunt, Tristram and Victoria Whitfield, <u> Art Treasures in Manchester: 150 years on</u> Manchester: Manchester Art Gallery, 2007. ISBN 978 0 90167 372 5."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Ebloussants reflets. Normandie Impressionniste - Rouen Rouen: musées des Beaux-Arts, 2013. ISBN: 9782711860623."}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"ship","id":"AAT82981"},{"text":"seascape","id":"AAT117546"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Gallery 100, ‘History of photography’, 2011-2012, label text :\r\n\r\nGustave Le Gray (1820-84)\r\n‘The Brig’\r\n1856\r\n\r\n‘The Brig’ was Le Gray’s first exhibited seascape. Its\r\nappeal derives from the poignancy of the little ship\r\nseen alone against a vast expanse of sea and sky.\r\nIt was highly praised in the photographic press for\r\nits technical accomplishment and dramatic\r\natmosphere. It may be the first photograph\r\nconceived as fine art to achieve both commercial\r\nsuccess and critical acclaim.\r\n\r\nAlbumen print\r\nChauncey Hare Townshend Bequest 1868\r\nMuseum no. 67.995\r\n","date":{"text":"07 03 2014","earliest":"2014-03-07","latest":"2014-03-07"}}],"partNumbers":["67995"],"accessionNumberNum":"67995","accessionNumberPrefix":"","accessionYear":null,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-30","recordCreationDate":"2004-02-05","availableToBook":false}}