A Venetian Gamin
1894, printed 1895/1896
Medium
platinum print
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to image): 17.1 × 13 cm (6 3/4 × 5 1/8 in.) page size: 34.8 × 27 cm (13 11/16 × 10 5/8 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Alfred Stieglitz Collection
Accession Number
1949.3.115
Art Historical Context
*A Venetian Gamin* captures a fleeting moment of youthful mischief on the streets of Venice, photographed by Alfred Stiegl in 1894 during his formative European travels and printed as a platinum print around 1895–1896. Stieglitz, a American photographer, turned his lens on everyday life, portraying a "gamin"—a scrappy street urchin— candid expression and ragged attire evoke the vibrant, gritty underbelly of late 19th-century Italy. This intimate 17.1 × 13 cm image, trimmed to its essence, invites viewers into a world of unposed authenticity. The platinum print medium was Stieglitz's preferred...
About the Artist
Alfred Stieglitz · 1864–1946
Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) was a pioneering American photographer, art dealer, publisher, and advocate for the Modernist movement who was instrumental over his 50-year career in making photography an accepted art form. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to German Jewish immigrant parents, Stieglitz spent his formative years studying mechanical engineering in Berlin, where he discovered photography in ...