August Sander
1930 (ca)
[Blind Men, Congenitally Afflicted]

Gelatin silver print
24.3 × 18.9 cm (9 9/16 × 7 7/16 in.)
 
J. Paul Getty Museum
© J. Paul Getty Trust, Object Number: 84.XM.126.110
 
(Curatorial description, 15 December 2021)
Two oddly paired men sit on a bench in a park-like setting: one holds his glasses while the other rests his hand against the edge of the seat. The men bear no resemblance to each other--the young man on the left is fair; his older companion on the right is tanned--but they are united by their common blindness.
 
August Sander made this portrait at a home for the blind in Düren, just west of Cologne. The younger man on the left was apparently of sincere interest to Sander, who made a detailed enlargement of him, entitled Blind Man, Congenitally Afflicted.
 
LL/116426