Groepsportret van een aantal jongens en jonge mannen op het erf achter de tuin van de familie Van den Berg before 1894

Hendrik Herman van den Berg made this photograph, probably in the early twentieth century, of a group of boys and young men, possibly in the Netherlands, posed informally with tennis racquets. The image presents us with a particular vision of masculinity, class, and leisure. One young man is smartly dressed in a suit, tie, and cap, holding a cane. Others wear vests and caps and knickerbockers. Their clothes mark them as middle to upper class. The tennis racquets and balls are props indicating a life of leisure and participation in sport. The setting is unrefined: an unpaved yard, with a gate and the corner of a building in the background. The informality of the image and setting suggests a culture of relaxed domesticity. The photograph serves as a historical document and cultural artifact, offering insights into the lives and social norms of a particular time and place. To understand it better, we could research the history of tennis as a pastime of the Dutch upper classes, as well as the dress codes and social expectations for young men of that era.