Marba en Eckart Titzenthaler, kinderen van de fotograaf, met haan op het dakterras van het woonhuis in de Friedrichstrasse, Berlijn 1918 - 1920

This photograph shows Waldemar Titzenthaler’s children, Marba and Eckart, with a rooster on the roof terrace of their Berlin home. The image offers a glimpse into the intimate, domestic world of a family living in Germany during a period of significant social and political change. The choice to photograph his children in such a setting, interacting with a farm animal, creates an interesting dialogue around ideas of childhood, nature, and urban life. During this time, there was a growing interest in the ‘back-to-nature’ movement as a response to increasing industrialization and urbanization. The photograph plays with the tensions between these contrasting worlds, posing questions about how urban families connected with nature. The photograph also gently touches on gender roles: Marba carefully cradles the rooster while Eckart feeds the animal from his hand. This moment reveals a delicate family dynamic while hinting at the broader societal expectations of boys and girls. Titzenthaler captures a fleeting moment of connection, inviting us to reflect on the complex relationships between family, identity, and the changing world around them.