Two questions prompted by this picture. Is a group incompatible with the idea of the rückenfigur? Do the full faces destroy the essential concept of the rückenfigur? Maybe ‘yes’ to both. So it becomes more a ‘rear view’ picture; and does that reveal anything? Not about the individuals, but it puts the focus on the lone steer whose value is being assessed and whose future is uncertain. There is uncertainty in the whole scene – this is a cattle market in its dying days. So, maybe there is something of the rückenfigur, the concept of figures imbued with melancholy, here.
Photo: Cambridge Cattle Market, 1987