Groepsportret harmonie 'Crescendo' 1949

This black and white photograph of the ‘Crescendo’ harmony group was taken by the Vereenigde Foto-bureaux Amsterdam. Look at the way the composition gathers all these people together, a real variety of characters. It’s like a painting in that the image holds a whole group as one single gesture. I love the surface and tonality of the image: soft yet sharp, with a full range of greys that makes it feel almost velvety. Take a look at the bottom row of musicians, holding the drums and looking directly at us, they are almost bursting out of the frame. There’s a certain directness, but also a stillness to the image, which gives it a kind of suspended, dreamlike quality. The arrangement brings to mind August Sander, who categorised types of people according to their profession. But in this image, the idea of working together towards a shared purpose and harmony seems most important, with the goal of making something beautiful together. What could be better?