The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Switzerland. Grindelwald, Upper Glacier, Source of the Lutschine

1875–77

Adolphe Braun

(French, 1812–1877)
France, 19th century
Carbon print, toned, from wet collodion negative
Image: 38.7 x 48.3 cm (15 1/4 x 19 in.); Paper: 40 x 50.7 cm (15 3/4 x 19 15/16 in.); Matted: 55.9 x 71.1 cm (22 x 28 in.); Framed: 59.1 x 74.3 cm (23 1/4 x 29 1/4 in.)
The A. W. Ellenberger, Sr., Endowment Fund 1992.237
Location: Not on view

Description

Braun's photographs often bore a stylistic resemblance to realist painting in France. Photography was an important factor in the evolution of realism, a style that was then gaining popularity. With its forthright depiction of natural forces, this photograph of a river springing from a glacier clearly recalls landscape paintings by Gustave Courbet (1819–1877). Courbet's numerous river scenes were contemporary with Braun's work and were part of the aesthetic context of the time.
  • Adolphe Braun Archive, Musée Unterlinden, Colmar, France
    Joachim Bonnemasion [1943-], Paris, France
    ?-1992
    (Charles Isaacs Photographs, Inc., New York, NY)
    December 7, 1992
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1992.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 2 (February 1993): 38–79. Mentioned: p. 68 www.jstor.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 111
  • Image and Enterprise: The Photographs of Adolphe Braun. Rhode Island School of Design (February 4-April 22, 2000); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 18-August 27, 2000).
    Providence, RI: Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design (2/4/00 - 4/22/00); CMA (6/18/00 - 8/27/2000). "Image and Enterprise: The Photographs of Adolphe Braun" cat. no. 60, p. 148.
    CMA, November 20,1996 - February 2, 1997: "Legacy of Light: Seven Masters in Depth."
    Legacy of Light: Seven Masters in Depth. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 20-February 2, 1996).
    Selected Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 9-April 11, 1993).
    CMA, January 28 - March 15, 1992: "Selected Acquisitions," CMA Bulletin, 80 (February 1993), p. 68, no. 87.
  • {{cite web|title=Switzerland. Grindelwald, Upper Glacier, Source of the Lutschine|url=false|author=Adolphe Braun|year=1875–77|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1992.237