Photographs from the Estate of Isabel Wachenheimer by Anonymous

Photographs from the Estate of Isabel Wachenheimer 1922 - 1923

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photography, gelatin-silver-print

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still-life-photography

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pictorialism

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landscape

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photography

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gelatin-silver-print

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genre-painting

Dimensions: height 107 mm, width 82 mm, height 164 mm, width 210 mm

Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain

This anonymous photograph from the Estate of Isabel Wachenheimer captures a moment frozen in time, a picnic perhaps, set against a rugged landscape. The monochrome palette lends a timeless quality, like a memory softened by age. What strikes me is the texture: the rough, stony mountain looming in the background, contrasting with the smooth, almost velvety quality of the figures in the foreground. The light catches the folds of their clothing, the curve of a cheek, giving them a sculptural presence. The composition is a study in contrasts: the solid, unyielding mountain versus the transient gathering of people, the dark, muted tones against the bright sky. Maybe it's the way the figures are arranged, clustered together in a small pool of light, that feels so compelling. This photograph speaks of fleeting moments and enduring landscapes. It makes me think of artists like Gerhard Richter, who also blur the boundaries between photography and painting. It's a reminder that art isn't just about what you see, but how you see it.

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rijksmuseum's Profile Picture
rijksmuseum over 1 year ago

In 1928 a daughter, Isabel, was born to Eugen and Else Wachenheimer. In 1934 they posed before the family home in Stuttgart on Isabel’s first day of school. The photograph at the lower right was taken almost ten years later (1943) in the Westerbork transit camp. Isabel had been rounded up in Amsterdam five months earlier. The family was first sent to Theresienstadt and then on to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where Eugen and Else were gassed. Isabel was condemned to forced labour.

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