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Siblings [Publisher Otto Schmidt with His Sisters, Cologne]

Creator

German Photographer · 1876–1964

Artist

During military service, August Sander was an assistant in a photographic studio in Trier; he then spent the following two years working in various studios elsewhere. By 1904 he had opened his own studio in Linz, Austria, where he met with success. He moved to a suburb of Cologne in 1909 and soon began to photograph the rural farmers nearby. Around three years later Sander abandoned his urban stud

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Date: 1924
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Culture: German
Department: Photographs
Institution: Getty Museum

In this family portrait featuring publisher Otto Schmidt and his sisters, each of the four siblings conveys a sense of individuality while still appearing connected to the others. On the left, a shy, bespectacled girl avoids gazing directly into the camera's lens. As a result, the viewer sees only her blushing profile. A sister sits behind her, on a higher seat that emphasizes her status as the eldest. In the front, a confident sister looks directly into the camera. On the right, their brother leans in, as if trying to assert himself. They all wear modest, conservative attire, appropriate for this middle-class family. August Sander posed the sitters in a compositionally balanced way that underscored their familial ties. He specifically avoided seating the brother in center or the rear, which would have determined his role as the family patriarch.

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