Duitse militairen 1940 - 1945

This photo of German soldiers, pasted into an album, is rendered in shades of grey, each carefully considered to render form with light. The process here is not about perfection, but about capturing a moment. The sepia tones evoke a sense of nostalgia, almost like looking through a faded memory. Consider the top photo. The row of soldiers recedes into the background. Their rigid postures contrast the softness of the frame. The choice to use a decorative border feels odd, somehow. It hints at a human presence amidst the cold reality of war. This piece reminds me of the work of Gerhard Richter, who similarly used photographs as a starting point, embracing the inherent ambiguity of the medium. Like Richter, this anonymous artist invites us to contemplate the nature of representation and memory. It’s a photograph that feels both intimate and distant, personal and historical, all at once.