Rocks, Fontainebleau Forest

ca. 1852
Gustave Le Gray

The waxed paper process developed in 1850 by Gustave le Gray (1820−1884) made it possible to separate the phase of preparation from the actual shot, thus giving the photographer greater freedom and proving very practical for travellers. This photograph taken in the woods of Fontainebleau presents an austere composition that avoids detail to focus on the grain of the rocks, the lightness of the foliage and the wild grasses. Abandoning the picturesque, Le Gray contributes to the emergence of the photographic landscape as an artistic genre in its own right and hence a competitor to landscape painting.