Stieglitz visited, among other places, Bellagio, on Lake Como, Lombardy, where he took several photographs, often depicting landscapes and folk scenes. This one was part of the group that he took while at Bellagio. The picture depicts a candid scene, without any artificiality, and depicts several children apparently laughing at a joke that the woman at the fountain has just told. The photo is closely cropped, focusing on the children, with architectural arches in the background providing a "stage set" for the image.[1]
Stieglitz sent twelve photographs from this trip to The Amateur Photographer' magazine's Photographic Holiday Work Competition. This picture appeared in the 25 November 1887 issue. It was considered the only spontaneous work in the competition, judged by British photographer Peter Henry Emerson, and it won the first prize.[2]
