The Magic Crystal / The Crystal Gazer ~1904
Gertrude Käsebier (1852-1934), platinum print photograph
Käsebier was a founder member of the Photo Secession movement of the early twentieth century. This photograph conforms with the ideals of the Photo Secessionists, who believed that photography should emulate painting and etching. Käsebier has manipulated the photograph to give it a more painterly quality. Influenced by the Symbolist art movement, Photo Secessionist photographers frequently included globes, glass spheres or crystal balls in their compositions.
