Portrait of Young Boy with Arm Across Back of Chair

The second photograph that I will be writing about is called “Portrait of Young Boy with Arm Across Back of
Chair” by Alfred Stieglitz in 1906. This was taken with the Kodak Brownie. Stieglitz was one of the most popular
photographers of his time, and many believe him to be the first “modernist” photographer. His pictures varied from
portraits to landscapes, but throughout all of his pictures, there is a common theme of there only being one main
subject. Even in the landscapes photographs, there is usually a building or tree in the middle that is in the centre of
the piece.

As I have already mentioned, Stieglitz used a Kodak Brownie. These innovative cameras worked similarly to the
human eye. “The shutter in the front of the camera is opened, allowing light to pass through the lens. This light
is reflected from the object being photographed. As the light passes through the lens, it forms an image of the
object being photographed. As it continues through the lens, this image is inverted (turned upside-down). The
lens projects the inverted image onto light-sensitive film at the back of the box. This is known as exposure of
the film. The longer the shutter is left open, the more light is allowed onto the film.” This is taken from the
article Beginners Guide To Understanding And Using A Brownie Box Camera. 1 After taking a picture, you can
develop it by taking out the film in the camera and putting it in a solution of 31 parts water and 1 part
development liquid. Then you allow it to sit.

I will now talk about how this picture represents a work of art. I believe this to be the case because whilst it
may be a portrait and Stieglitz may not have had a lot of creative liberty, each picture depicts how the
photographer sees the world and decides to frame it. In the photo, a young boy is visible posing against a chair
and the wall. Good art generates many questions, like the ones I personally have about the piece; Why is the
chair there? What is in the picture behind the boy? Why is this picture being taken? Is it for a special occasion,
and if so which?

When we look at the trend of the time, we realize that it was a time period that people were beginning to use
photography as an art form and not just to document people. The most common trend in photography at the
time was taking portraits of individuals and families. With a more accessible camera at an affordable price,
most photographers made their living off taking portraits and therefore didn’t have much time to venture into
other fields of photography.
Citations:

1: Lutz, Pete. “Beginners Guide to Understanding and Using a Brownie Box Camera.” Beginners Guide To
Understanding And Using A Brownie Box Camera by Peter Lutz - The Brownie Camera Page, n.d
https://www.brownie-camera.com/articles/petelutz/article.shtml.

2Grundberg, Andy. “Perfecting the Medium, c. 1900–c. 1945.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc., 11 Jan. 2000,
https://www.britannica.com/technology/photography/Perfecting-the-medium-c-1900-c-1945.