Lake George c. 1926

Alfred Stieglitz captured this view of Lake George using a photographic process. The most striking symbol in this work is, without a doubt, the heavy, brooding sky, a motif deeply embedded in our collective consciousness. We see skies like this throughout art history - consider the dramatic skies in Renaissance paintings, often used to convey divine presence or impending doom. Think, too, of the sublime landscapes of the Romantic era, where turbulent skies mirrored the emotional turmoil of the human soul. The lowering sky, a universal symbol of the awesome and uncontrollable power of nature, evokes a sense of unease and anticipation. It is this feeling of a latent emotional force, stirring within us, that Stieglitz so powerfully captures. The sky serves as a reminder of the cyclical nature of existence, and the perpetual dance between light and shadow, hope and despair, in the human experience.