Pictorialism
Pictorialism is an international photography movement from the late 19th and early 20th centuries that treated the camera as a tool for fine art rather than a simple recording device. ​
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The Pictorialism movement's main aim was to prove that photography could be fine art, instead of a mechanical way of recording reality. Pictorialist photographers deliberately made images look more like paintings, drawings, or prints. They often used soft focus, atmospheric lighting, mist, dramatic compositions, and manipulated printing techniques. Rather than showing every detail sharply, they prioritised mood, beauty, and the photographer's personal interpretation.
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The movement developed partly because photography was still often regarded as less artistic than painting. Groups such as the Photo-Secession, founded by Alfred Stieglitz in 1902, helped promote photography as a serious artistic medium. Important Pictorialists included Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Gertrude Kasebier, and Robert Demachy.
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Its importance is that it helped establish photography as an accepted art form. Pictorialism eventually declined as photographers such as Stieglitz moved toward Straight Photography, which embraced sharp detail and photography's own visual qualities instead of imitating painting. But Pictorialism had already helped change the photographer from someone who simply recorded what was there into an artist who could interpret it.
This image was first seen publicly at the "International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography" held in Buffalo, New York in 1910. It was in fact one of six hundred images selected by Alfred Stieglitz as a means of showcasing the artistry of Pictorialist photography. Steichen's photograph, which highlights his feel for shapes and textures, became one of his most famous images.​
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I personally like this image a lot - it has a dark and moody tone which, in conjunction with the blurred silhouettes, portrays a strong sense of darkness to the viewer. The trees protruding the frame allow for a sense of closeness to the subjects while the urban architecture towering in the background and the faint phantasm like people, contrasts this with the idea of disconnection and distance.
The Flatiron
Edward J. Steichen
1904, printed 1909
Modernism
Modernism is an early to mid 20th century art movement embracing the camera's mechanical precision to capture sharp, unmanipulated images of the modern world. ​
Modernism in photography developed mainly from the 1910s through to the mid-20th century, partly as a reaction to Pictorialism. Instead of trying to make photographs resemble paintings, Modernist photographers embraced what made photography itself unique.
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Images became sharper, cleaner, and more experimental, often using strong geometry, unusual viewpoints, close-ups, abstraction, dramatic shadows, and attention to form, line, and texture. Manipulation and soft-focus effects were generally replaced by an interest in the camera's ability to show the world with striking clarity.
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Important photographers included Paul Strand, Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, Ansel Adams, and later Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. Groups such as f/64, founded in 1932, promoted extremely sharp, detailed photography and rejected the soft Pictorialist style.
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Modernism was important because it helped photography develop its own artistic identity rather than borrowing the appearance of older art forms. It also encouraged experimentation with perspective, abstraction, and everyday objects, establishing many of the visual approaches that shaped contemporary fine-art, documentary, and commercial photography.
The Steerage is a photograph taken by Alfred Stieglitz in 1907 while travelling by ship from New York to Europe. It shows the passengers in the steerage section, the cheaper area of the ship, separated from the wealthier passengers travelling in first class.
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Although Stieglitz had previously been closely associated with Pictorialism, The Steerage represented his movement towards a more direct, distinctly photographic style. Rather than making the photograph imitate a painting, he used the real shapes and structures in front of the camera to create the compoisiton.
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I like this image a lot not only because of its appearance, but also its significance. It shows a transition in the development of Modernism photography with a scene being photographed not simply for its subject, but for its visual structure and storytelling qualities.