Charles Nègre at Hans P. Kraus Jr.

Charles Nègre is one of those early practitioners of photography whose name has been largely forgotten while associates such as Gustave Le Gray, from whom Nègre may have learned the waxed negative technique, have risen to prominence in histories of the medium. This is an unfortunate oversight.  Nègre, who began his career in 1844 only five years after photography's invention, was truly gifted and displayed an unrivaled technical mastery of the calotype and salt print.  According to the gallery's press release, the current exhibit at Hans P. Kraus Jr. is actually Nègre's first one man show of photographs in the U.S.

The highlight of the exhibit is the print Une rue à "Grasse"  (1852).  The work is notable on several counts. First, the tonal range is excellent.  Nègre succeeds very well in retaining detail in the shadow areas (the large lot of bushes that dominate the middle of the print) while at the same time managing not to lose any of the highlights (for example, the raised white single story structure in the upper right).  Although printed from a paper negative, the same print shows an amazing degree of sharpness and detail.  Finally, the photograph's overall composition is excellent, no doubt a result of Nègre's long training as a painter.  On this aspect, the press release quotes photo historian Jacob W. Lewis:

"This view of Grasse and its sun-soaked buildings and oil presses that line up on a steep zigzag road, interlocking like puzzle pieces, is no mere indulgence in the picturesque.  Rather, it represents a test for photography as a means to capture the infinite variety of rough-hewn Provence into a fully considered tableau of pleasing effects, where no element is without its formal significance."

One great advantage of the current show is that in ten instances the prints are paired with the negatives from which they were made.  To a photographer, this is invaluable.  Although it is axiomatic that a great print cannot be made from a poor negative, the care which Nègre took to produce balanced negatives is astonishing.  I noted that in at least one instance the photographer had signed the negative, thus indicating he considered it a work of art in itself.

Although Nègre specialized in landscapes and architectural studies, he was also very gifted at photographing people.  One work, Portrait of a Bearded Man, is remarkable for its sharpness considering the long exposures required by the calotype process.  Le tailleur de pierre, though obviously posed, is very natural in its depiction of a stone cutter at work.  In this it recalls Organ Grinder at 21, quai Bourbon, an image in the Getty Collection not included in this exhibit.  Unfortunately also not included in this exhibit is Nègre's most famous work, The Vampire, showing Henri Le Secq and the gargoyle named "Le Styrge" at Notre Dame in 1853.

The exhibit continues through November 1, 2013.