Dicky Baud met twee andere jongens op weg naar school 1930 - 1935

Curator: It’s funny, there’s something instantly compelling about this gelatin-silver print from the 1930s, titled "Dicky Baud met twee andere jongens op weg naar school" – or, Dicky Baud with two other boys on the way to school. Editor: Yes, that stark tonality certainly evokes a certain somberness. I find myself immediately thinking about the socio-economic conditions prevalent at the time. Look at the texture of the coats, the knee socks, their worn shoes. You can feel the weight of the era in the materials. Curator: Indeed, it's a potent visual record. And think about photography in general – it becomes democratized, increasingly accessible to capture everyday life. We get a glimpse into childhood amidst larger historical currents, reflecting evolving social norms about children and labor. Editor: It really begs the question – who was Dicky Baud? And why capture this mundane moment, one of routine transit? I am curious about the economic viability and access for these three schoolboys: it reminds me of August Sander’s typological study of Weimar Germany. This snapshot inadvertently acts as an archive of social hierarchy at this intersection of place, labour and subject. Curator: That's fascinating. Perhaps the anonymity allows us to project our own narratives onto these figures. Given the genre style of painting coupled with modernism's stark and realistic forms, there's both something timeless and deeply rooted in the specific cultural context of the interwar years. I wonder who held the camera? Editor: And what was their relationship to the boys? Are they related? Was it posed? What labor went into creating the material for the print itself? Its circulation is directly tied to that network of relationships, economic drivers and even cultural status. Curator: So well-articulated; those insights transform our interpretation of a simple snapshot. Now I am also questioning the intent behind such everyday portraits... Editor: Ultimately it underscores photography's complex relationship with historical truth; the more mundane the photograph, the more compelling as an archive that offers us glimpses into materiality, modes of production and social history.