The Last Joke, Bellagio

He was then living and studying in Germany and decided to travel through several cities of Italy at the Summer.

Stieglitz visited, among other places, Bellagio, on Lake Como, Lombardy, where he took several photographs, often depicting landscapes and folk scenes.

The picture depicts a candid scene, without any artificiality, and depicts several children and youngsters of both genders apparently laughing at a joke that the woman at the fountain has just said.

The photo is closely cropped, focusing on the children, with architectural arches in the background providing a "stage set" for the image.

It was considered the only spontaneous work in the competition, judged by British photographer Peter Henry Emerson, and it won the first prize.