Jeugdstorm lopend door een zanderig gebied Possibly 1934 - 1935

Curator: This gelatin-silver print, likely dating from 1934 or 1935, is titled "Jeugdstorm lopend door een zanderig gebied," which translates to "Youth Storm walking through a sandy area." It resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Oh, it’s stark, isn't it? All those boys in formation, marching… It evokes this strange sense of inevitability, almost like worker ants. There's a uniformity that’s both chilling and visually striking. Curator: The “Jeugdstorm” was the Dutch youth movement affiliated with the NSB, the National Socialist Movement. It really showcases social realism in the period leading up to World War II. Editor: The landscape itself feels symbolic. The dunes become these rolling waves of conformity that threatens to wash them all away as individuals, one after another. What do the blank faces signify, I wonder? Is it intended to signal shared purpose or, perhaps, something darker - loss of individual expression and thought? Curator: Well, photographic portraits were a common propaganda tool back then. Group portraits, especially, were deployed to signal power, strength, and unity - and "history-painting", here achieved through photography, connects historical consciousness with current political projects. This image is meant to show healthy, virile youths marching in lockstep towards a brighter future. Editor: The choice of a sandy, barren environment also says so much, doesn't it? Sand has always been connected with temporality, fragility... it makes their quest all the more tragic. In this quest for purity and power, this youthful energy may also wash away leaving behind a bleak, desolate cultural landscape. Curator: Precisely. Seeing it now, we can recognize the subtle yet powerful ways in which photography was manipulated to convey particular ideologies. This single image really encompasses elements of portraiture, landscape and history painting all rolled into one. Editor: Yes, a sobering reminder that even the most seemingly simple image can carry complex, often troubling, symbolic weight. One cannot look at photographs innocently in this climate; one must understand where one stands within it.