This image is considered the first masterpiece by Alfred Stieglitz, who often haunts the pages of Old Spirituals.

The 1889 photograph was taken in Munich and features Paula Bauschmied, Stieglitz’ lover, seated at a table with her back to him. The photograph is such an interesting window into her psychology.  Most people had never had their photograph made and here is Paula, who appears decidedly unimpressed with this invention. She disregards the photographs of herself on the wall above her. Even as she is being photographed, her back is to the camera and she remains intent on her letter, preferring to write than to pose.

A year after he took this photograph, Stieglitz moved to New York. He was on his way to his destiny as a luminary in the medium of photography. It seems he left Paula behind or perhaps their love affair ended before he left.

We know what Stieglitz did with his life. Looking back many years later, he considered this picture to be the beginning of his serious work. The light shining through the blinds gives the illusion of Bauschmied behind bars, similar to the partially covered birdcage on the right side of the shot.

What Paula did with her life is a mystery.