Groepsportret van een schoolklas c. 1900 - 1915

This is a sepia-toned photograph of a school class, taken by H. Sanders & Co. We can see the process of photography in the subtle gradations of tone and the way the light falls across the children’s faces. It’s almost like a painting, where the artist builds up the image layer by layer. I’m drawn to the way the photo captures the texture of the clothing. Look at the plaid patterns of the girls’ dresses and the rough wool of the boys’ jackets. You can almost feel the fabric. The children themselves look incredibly serious, as if posing for a photograph was a very serious business. Although the tone is monochrome, the contrast between the light and dark areas gives the image a lot of depth. There’s something very haunting about this image. It reminds me of the work of Thomas Ruff, who also explores the way photography can reveal and conceal. Ultimately, this photograph invites us to consider the nature of representation and the ways in which we construct our understanding of the past.