The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

The Bridge of Palalda (near Amelieles-Bains)

1851–1852

Gustave Le Gray

(French, 1820–1884)
France, 19th century
salted paper print from waxed paper negative
Image: 23.8 x 32.7 cm (9 3/8 x 12 7/8 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1987.130
Location: Not on view

Description

From July through September 1851, Le Gray and his friend O. Mestral traveled throughout southwest France for the Historic Monuments Commission to document ancient, particularly medieval, monuments of historical importance or in urgent need of or undergoing restoration. This rare, beautifully toned photograph by Le Gray is one of three known positive prints of different subjects that were completely outside the commission’s prescribed program. This picturesque image was taken from the left bank of the Tech River, situated below the old town of Palalda, now a part of Amelie-les-Bains in Pyrenees-Orientales. With his keen eye for artistic compositions, Le Gray stressed the rugged landscape over a detailed, close-up rendering of the ancient bridge. The foreshortened, sheer cliff seems to blend into the structure, resulting in visual uncertainty and spatial tension.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 221
    Hinson, Tom E. "The Monet of Photography." Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 45, no. 4 (April 2005): 6-8. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 6 archive.org
  • France at the Dawn of Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 4, 2009-January 24, 2010).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (10/04/2009 - 01/24/2010); "France at the Dawn of Photography"
    Drawn with Light: Pioneering French Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 26-June 16, 2005).
    Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 26 - June 16, 2005 . "Drawn with Light: Pioneering French Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art".
    The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).
    CMA, February 24 - April 17, 1988: "Year in Review 1987," CMA Bulletin, 75 (February 1988), p. 67, no. 65.
  • {{cite web|title=The Bridge of Palalda (near Amelieles-Bains) |url=false|author=Gustave Le Gray|year=1851–1852|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.130