August Sander
1876–1964 · Germany
A society seen through its faces.
The story
Sander developed Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts, a body of portraits arranged into social and occupational groups. His subjects pose in clothes, settings and attitudes that offer clues to their position without exhausting their individuality. This vast inventory spans the upheavals of early twentieth-century Germany. Its classification proposes a reading of society that deserves to be questioned as closely as the images themselves.
Understanding the work
Observe the hands, objects and surroundings, then question the categories of the series. A portrait shows a person; its classification also assigns them a social place.
Key works and series
Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts; Antlitz der Zeit.
Sources & further exploration
Works in collections.
10 recordsPhotographs to explore on museum and library websites, with titles, dates and processes. Each link opens the collection record and its image where one is available.
- MoMA · Date non précisée
I/1 The Young Farmer from People of the Twentieth Century
Gelatin silver prints
