Sun Rays, Paula, Berlin
Alfred Stieglitz
American, 1864–1946
1889
A gelatin silver photograph in which Stieglitz captures a woman—titled “Paula”—writing at a table, using window light and shadow to create an intimate, painterly mood.
What strikes you is the sharp diagonal bands of sunlight slicing across the sitter and patterned wall, the small collage of portraits and birdcage pinned above her, and the hushed, cinematic stillness of this domestic interior.
Made during Stieglitz’s Pictorialist phase, the picture argues that photography can evoke the tonal subtleties and emotional depth of painting and helped pave the way to modernist photographic expression.
Medium
Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1930
Dimensions
8 7/8 × 6 9/16" (22.5 × 16.7 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Anonymous gift
Accession
324.1942
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
