A Venetian Gamin Possibly 1894 - 1934

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, A Venetian Gamin, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. The way he uses light and shadow, it’s like he’s painting with the camera. Look at how the light catches the boy’s face and hair. The contrast is pretty stark. It’s not soft, it’s got some grit to it, just like the kid. You can see every detail in his worn clothes, the rough texture almost palpable, you know? The way the light falls, it makes you feel like you’re right there in that Venetian alley. The details aren't just details, they're the whole story. I think of the work of someone like Käthe Kollwitz, though she worked with etching and lithography, the same sensibility is there, a similar awareness of the real lives of working people. Anyway, the whole thing is this mix of beauty and reality, a reminder that there’s always more than one way to see something.