Sun Rays—Paula, Berlin
1889, printed 1920/39
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image/paper: 22.7 × 16.9 cm (8 15/16 × 6 11/16 in.)
Classification
gelatin silver (developing-out-paper) pr
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
66284
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Although Stieglitz made this photograph of his lover Paula early in his career, he did not exhibit or publish it until 1921 at the earliest; shown frequently thereafter, it became one of his best-known works. In contrast to the more atmospheric, seemingly timeless images he was making at the time, such as The Net Mender, Sun Rays is sharp and crisp, as well as modern in its subject matter—the photographs on the wall include a small studio portrait of Stieglitz himself. Only later in his career, ...
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 ...