Duitse soldaat poseert bij ophaalbrug Possibly 1940 - 1945

This small black and white photograph at the Rijksmuseum shows a German soldier posing by a drawbridge and it's attributed to an anonymous artist. I wonder what the photographer was thinking when they made this picture? Maybe they were trying to capture a moment of everyday life under extraordinary circumstances. The composition is striking. The soldier, standing there with a sort of casual formality against the backdrop of the bridge. The photographer must have wanted to document a moment in time, with all its complexities and nuances. Looking at this image, it reminds me that art-making is often about bearing witness, about trying to make sense of the world around us, even when that world is chaotic or unsettling. It makes me think about the role of the artist as observer, as interpreter, as someone who can help us see the world in new ways.