German photographer August Sanders loved to document his fellow countrymen and gave up working in his studio to literally get on his bike and work in the field capturing the people he came upon. Not long after being published his book Face of our Time, which contained 60 portraits from his travels, was seized by the Nazi and the photographic plates destroyed. During the Second World War however, he managed to make it out of Cologne saving many of his negatives.
One picture that fascinates me is of a young German solider dressed in an impeccable uniform, staring straight into the lens. You can’t help but look at this young man and wonder, does his youthful, clean look mean he has not yet seen war or had to kill the enemy or is he on leave resting and proud of the English he has fought and killed. There is a slight tenseness to his eyes that suggest to me he is very anxious of what may be to come.
In Sanders own words ‘We can tell from appearance the work someone does or does not do; we can read in his face if he is happy or troubled’
Research
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1786&page=1http://www.cosmopolis.ch/english/cosmo50/august_sander.htm
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/cruelandtender/sander.htm
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