Groepsportret van een schoolklas c. 1900 - 1915

This small, sepia photograph shows a school class posing for H. Sanders & Co. We can imagine Sanders carefully arranging these children into rows, trying to get them to sit still and smile. The muted tones evoke a sense of nostalgia and a bygone era. The textures in the photograph are fascinating – the rough fabric of the children’s clothes, the smooth faces, and the subtle variations in tone. The serious expressions of the children create a sense of solemnity and formality, but also a feeling of vulnerability. What were their lives like? What were they thinking? This photograph is an ongoing conversation between the past and the present, inviting us to reflect on the nature of time, memory, and human experience. It is a beautiful piece of embodied expression which embraces ambiguity.