Pictorialism - Critique

Gertrude Käsebier was a strong advocate for women as photographers as it was shown in her work, with motherly figures and themes. She adopted the pictorialism current of the early 20th century, where pictures emulated paintings by their softness and themes.

In this photograph, the focus is soft, the figure of the mother is white, pure and etheral She is guiding lovingly a gender natural looking child out of door. It is also possible to see in the background a painting that seems to emulate the scene that is happening in the foreground


The second photograph os by Joyce Tenneson. Most of her photographs were taken using a 20x24 polaroid. She used a different medium, but her representations are similar is theme and aeathetics. Again, the womanly figure is the main theme, again making a visual reference to religious paintings, of the women as white, pure and motherly. The women as a kind protector can also be observed in many of her photographs, where a woman embraces a child.