This photograph is classified in the portfolio entitled ‘The Family’, within the group ‘The Woman’, in August Sander’s photographic opus ‘People of the 20th Century’. Its placement within this context is of particular note because Sander also created a portfolio entitled ‘The Clergyman’, within the group ‘Classes and Professions’, which features the familial life of protestant clergy. A formal studio portrait, the photograph exploits its dark background to frame and highlight this family of five. The composition is organised around the seated adults with their children arranged between them: the two older children stand on either side of their mother, while the youngest sits in his father’s lap. From the tips of their shined shoes to their well-pressed clothing, the family emanates a sense of order and calm as they look towards the photographer that is only slightly undermined by the curious expression of the little girl in the centre of the image.