Child of impoverished Negro tenant family working on farm, Alabama 1936

Dorothea Lange made this photograph in Alabama using her camera. The little girl is suspended in time, bent over and working the land. I'm curious about what Lange was thinking as she composed this image, and how she captured the weight of labor on such young shoulders. It makes you consider what she saw in the landscape. Was she drawn to the stark contrast between the child's small frame and the vast, unforgiving field? The texture of the earth, rendered in shades of grey, feels both gritty and poignant. The light feels unforgiving. The rawness reminds me a bit of the social realism of Käthe Kollwitz. Like Kollwitz, Lange invites us to witness the everyday struggles of working people. There's a sense of empathy, an attempt to bridge the gap between the viewer and the subject. Each artist's expression offers a profound reflection on the human condition and the need for social change.