Wehrmacht soldaten gereed voor vertrek Possibly 1941 - 1943

This small, anonymous photograph at the Rijksmuseum captures a moment freighted with ambiguity. Look at the way the soldiers and their bicycles are lined up on the wet cobblestones, ready to depart. You can imagine the photographer, perhaps an amateur, trying to capture the scene with whatever camera was at hand. What were they thinking when they took it? Were they part of the Wehrmacht or a civilian documenting the occupation? The lack of clarity almost becomes the point. The monochrome palette adds to the somber mood. It's a simple, unadorned image. The lack of identifying detail makes it less about the individuals and more about the event. This act of recording, like the painting, becomes a way of questioning, of making sense, or at least trying to make sense, of a world turned upside down. That's what artists do, isn't it? They're always in conversation, always responding, always trying to make sense of the world through the materials at hand.