Portraiture as social documentation defines Face of Our Time: Sixty Portraits of Twentieth-Century Germans, where August Sander employs a straightforward, unembellished visual approach. The sixty black-and-white portraits capture individuals across German society, presenting a cross-section of professions and social classes in the early twentieth century.

The photographic strategy emphasizes clarity, neutrality, and directness, allowing the sitter’s appearance and expression to convey identity and social context without artifice. The images trace a complex narrative of a changing society through personal presence, reflecting historical shifts and cultural diversity within Germany.

Published in 2008 by Schirmer/Mosel, this 144-page volume offers a concentrated glimpse into Sander’s project of typological representation, invaluable for understanding portraiture’s role in documenting the human condition during a turbulent century.