August Sander was a photographer who used a certain formula for all his photographs. By presenting businessmen, farmers, actors, and beggars all with the same stark directness, the German-born Sander made everyone the everyman. Sander thought we can learn from everyone and every class in society, saying “We can tell from appearance the work someone does or does not do; we can read in his face whether he is happy or troubled, for life unavoidably leaves its trace there.”
This particular portrait is Sander’s most famous. Photographing a bricklayer in Cologne, Germany, Sander turned a sweaty, backbreaking job into dignity and bearing. The classical framing and quiet stateliness was especially poignant for Germany, a country still reeling from the impact of losing World War I.
