Sportactivieteiten op een grasveld c. 1895 - 1903

This is a stereograph titled 'Sportactivieteiten op een grasveld,' or 'Sporting activities on a lawn,' made by Geldolph Adriaan Kessler. This image offers a glimpse into the social life of the late 19th or early 20th century. The figures, all dressed in white, are engaged in leisurely sporting activities on a vast lawn. The monochrome palette lends the scene a nostalgic, almost dreamlike quality, emphasizing the historical distance between then and now. The composition, divided into two halves, invites us to consider how such images were consumed and understood. Who were these people, and what did engaging in sports mean in their lives? Was it a display of health, wealth, and social status? Kessler's lens captures a moment of apparent ease, but it also subtly hints at the complex social dynamics at play. What are the unspoken rules that govern who gets to play, and where? Ultimately, this stereograph makes me think about leisure, identity, and the ways in which we construct narratives of ourselves through recreation.