Sugimoto's long exposure seascape photographs share Le Gray's meditative and dramatic treatment of ocean waters in monochrome, reducing the sea and sky to sublime tonal gradients that evoke the same Romantic awe present in The Great Wave, Sète.

A near contemporary of Le Gray, Watkins similarly pushed 19th century large format photography toward dramatic natural subjects with exceptional tonal range, producing albumen prints of coastal and wilderness scenes that match the artistic ambition and technical mastery of Le Gray's seascapes.

Courbet's painted seascapes such as The Wave series share the same Romantic drama, turbulent ocean energy, and moody atmospheric tension found in Le Gray's photograph, making him a direct painterly counterpart to the mood and subject matter of this specific work.