Twee militairen aan een bureau 1941 - 1945

Curator: This gelatin-silver print, called "Two Military Men at a Desk," comes to us from between 1941 and 1945, part of the Rijksmuseum's collection but created by an anonymous hand. What strikes you initially? Editor: The smiles! The casual intimacy amidst what I presume are the toils of wartime is quite arresting. There’s a real sense of lived reality, breaking through what we often imagine the era to look like. Curator: Indeed. The smiles disrupt the stark black and white, suggesting deeper layers. Given the period, I'm curious about what symbols may be present beyond the surface of what seems to be mere mundane work. Look closely at the board in the background. It offers a framework to explore order and, maybe, constraint in their lives. Editor: You're right to notice that. It almost reads as a calendar or roster, the very architecture of daily naval operations structuring the image's background, an echo of larger institutional systems bearing down on individuals. Even the crisp uniforms suggest a certain homogeneity. What did naval uniforms communicate to society at that time, and how do we see this in the photo? Curator: It's a marker of both identification and a visible symbol of commitment to a national ideal. But more deeply, within the semiotics of war, it marks these individuals not as actors with agency, but objects of history with specific purposes to serve the national war narrative. How can we assess the impact on how this period’s public life? Editor: Excellent point. In public life, fashion served as a powerful visual shorthand, not only denoting rank or affiliation but also signaling alignment with the overarching political climate. Wartime visuals have been utilized repeatedly as symbols, what do we recognize looking at this one? Curator: In visual symbolism, the desk serves as an interesting pivot here; they engage, certainly, with bureaucratic labor and possibly communications, as is alluded by what is on the desk. I would ask the public if the image is a celebration or an indictment of administrative functions of the naval service? It carries many implications, and ultimately we're forced to ask more questions. Editor: It does that exceptionally well! Perhaps prompting such thoughtful contemplation on historical processes is this photo’s enduring strength. Curator: I concur. Hopefully, our listeners will take with them the layered complexities contained in the image of such a simple snapshot in time.