Der Maler Anton Räderscheidt, Köln, 1927, by August Sander is a compelling portrait of a painter who was a central figure of the New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit) movement, one of which Sander was also active. The photograph on offer here is part of Sander’s monumental portrait series, “People of the Twentieth Century,” a comprehensive work that documented all walks of life in 20th Century Germany. Sander’s precise, objective and exhaustive style of documentation would go on to influence future generations of photographers, from Bernd and Hilla Becher to Diane Arbus.
Made at the time of the negative, the print is mounted, signed and retains its original vellum overmat. In general, prints from before World War II are exceptionally rare. It is known that window mats of this type were not used by the artist after the War.
An appreciation of Sander’s genius is apparent from even a casual glance at his photographs. Armed with his
camera and insights, he went out among his people and brought back images of their souls. As we search
the faces from those lost decades, we are startled to see reflections of ourselves.
(John von Hartz, August Sander, Apeture Inc. New York, 1977, p. 9.)
Sander and Räderscheidt were both veterans of the war, the horrors of which profoundly influenced their world views and artistic styles and sensibilities. Spurning romanticism and expressionism that was prevalent at the time, they felt it was critical to capture reality as it was. For Sander, this meant presenting his subjects in their natural element with as much honesty as possible.
The subjects photographed for the People of the Twentieth Century were from a variety of social classes and backgrounds that Sander portrayed as representative types of their time and circumstance. Although the lifelong project of over 600 images was never published together in one complete book before he died, the portraits were divided into seven groups, which were later subdivided into over 45 portfolios. The groups consisted of “The Farmer”, “The Skilled Tradesman”, “The Woman”, “Classes and Professions”, “The Artists”, “The City” and “The Last People.” In Group V, The Artists Portfolio, images include writers, actors, architects, sculptures, painters, composers, and musicians, many of whom, like Räderscheidt, were in Sander’s intimate circle.
In this haunting photograph we see the painter Räderscheidt front and center, alone on a deserted street in Cologne. Arms and hands to his sides, dressed in a proper suit and tie, overcoat and bowler hat, he stares directly at the viewer with a quiet impatience. The streets and sidewalks are empty as are the buildings that seem to fade away, all of which amplifies a stark sense of isolation against the figure in the foreground, who coils energy within the image.
For his portrait photography, Sander often used an aged anastigmatic Voigtländer lens, a small view camera along with his tripod. This set up with the use large glass negatives, required the subjects remain still for multiple seconds. By using this technique, Sander was able to maintain control of what he wanted to communicate, while remaining truthful to reality. As a painter, Räderscheidt’s work captured the alienation of modern life, often with a lone figure in a bowler hat in stony, urban environments; here, Sander’s portrait of the painter reflects key elements of that austere approach.
This image of Räderscheidt is important on many levels. Not only a wonderfully precise physical reflection of the man, but also an exemplary example of the direct, realistic style and approach to craft that Sander, and Räderscheidt used to create their work. This photograph is representative of the evolving new world the German people were living in, and the new ideas that were starting to form. Additionally, surviving prints from the 1920s to 1930’s by Sander are rare due to Sander’s studio being destroyed by an air raid in 1944, and then his archive of remaining negatives was later lost in a fire in 1946.
Pure photography allows us to create portraits which render their subjects with absolute truth… if we can create
portraits of subjects that are true, we thereby in effect create a mirror of the times.
-August Sander