From the Fields Possibly 1894 - 1896

Alfred Stieglitz captured this photograph, titled "From the Fields," using a photogravure technique. Notice the central figure: a woman in traditional garb, holding a scythe amidst a field of wheat. The scythe, a tool for harvesting, carries echoes of Kronos, the Titan of Greek myth, who wielded a sickle to castrate his father, Uranus. This act birthed an era and symbolizes both creation and violent change. Similarly, wheat itself is a symbol of fertility, harvest, and sustenance. Images of the Grim Reaper holding a scythe recur throughout history and across cultures, including within the Dance of Death motif that gripped the medieval imagination. Yet here, the woman stands not as a harbinger of death, but as a figure intertwined with the cyclical nature of life and the abundance of the earth. This juxtaposition invites us to contemplate the complex interplay between mortality and regeneration inherent in the human experience.