Old Woman with Spinning Wheel Possibly 1894 - 1934

Alfred Stieglitz created this photographic print called 'Old Woman with Spinning Wheel' using a photogravure. I think what gets me about this image is the level of gray tonality, the way it seems to pull everything into the mid-tones. There's something so subtle about the way that Stieglitz has captured the light in the scene, not just falling on the woman and her wheel, but also on the surface of the building behind her. And the building itself is kind of incredible, the doorway and the blocked doorway beside it adding a certain geometrical feel to the whole scene. The eye is drawn to the surface quality; the rough wall contrasts with the smooth, almost blurry rendering of the figure. The image is so still and quiet, really meditative, and the woman becomes the heart of it. Like Van Gogh, Stieglitz was interested in capturing scenes of everyday life in the countryside, but the approach is very different – this piece feels particularly modern. It embraces a sense of ambiguity over fixed or definitive meaning.