Eugen Wachenheimer tijdens vakantie, augustus 1932, Eibsee (Beieren) 1932 - 1938

This photograph of Eugen Wachenheimer during a vacation was taken at Eibsee in Bavaria, probably with a simple camera, in August 1932. There’s something about the tonal range here, the way the black and white values compress the scene into a series of cloudy, indistinct shapes, that reminds me of early abstract painting. The photograph sits in the middle of a larger rectangle of cream-colored card or paper, with a handwritten inscription below. It’s a pretty standard holiday snap, but the way it's been presented feels considered. The composition of the page is interesting, the inscription and the photograph balancing each other. The photograph itself has a torn or serrated edge to it, and it has been attached to the page slightly off-center. The whole thing feels like a precursor to collage, that conversation between different elements which artists like Hannah Hoch were exploring at the time. There’s also a kinship with the intimate, playful assemblages of artists like Anne Ryan. All art is a conversation, even a snapshot in a family album.