In an 1899 article, Stieglitz singled out The Net Mender as his favorite of his own photographs: “It expresses the life of a young Dutch woman: every stitch in the mending of the fishing net, the very rudiment of her existence, brings forth a torrent of poetic thoughts in those who watch her sit there on the vast and seemingly endless dunes, toiling with that seriousness and peacefulness which is so characteristic of these sturdy people.” He noted that the exhibition prints were printed at the scale seen here because “the subject needs size to fully express it.”

First published in Vienna in 1887, Photographische Rundschau was among the earliest journals created for amateur photographers. It quickly became a leading international forum for pictorialism—the movement that championed photography as an art form on par with painting. Under editors such as Ernst Juhl and Dr. Richard Neuhauss, the journal promoted a new aesthetic vision and introduced readers to the work of groundbreaking photographers, including the young American Edward Steichen.

A hallmark of the Rundschau was its lavish use of photogravure. From the mid-1890s onward, each issue featured a large photogravure plate, printed with exceptional craftsmanship. These spare-no-expense hand-pulled photogravures allowed readers to experience photographs of the highest richness and subtlety, advancing their artistic value.

Across its shifting formats and editors, Photographische Rundschau documented photography’s transformation at the turn of the twentieth century, when questions of art, science, and modern life were vigorously debated. Today it stands as a crucial record of photography’s rise as a creative practice as well as a powerful advocate for photography’s recognition as an art.