"Der Rheinländer – Warum ist es am Rhein so schön?"

gelatin silver print

signed, dated, numbered, estate stamp authorized by Michael Scheler on verso

With the Rhinelander, who runs through the midday heat like a mischievous schoolboy with a satchel, Magnum photographer Herbert List humorously portrays a cheerful character.
In Germany, the Rhinelanders are considered to be humorously cheerful. Fritz Langensiepen from the Office for Rhenish Regional Studies has spent decades researching the Rhineland and its people as well as their dialect. "This has shown that the clichés people have about the Rhineland are actually true in the vast majority of cases. Most Rhinelanders are open, tolerant, like the community, approach others and like to talk a lot. "¹ Langensiepen and his colleagues were able to prove this empirically. The Rhinelanders like to "take the piss out of themselves", are relaxed in their dealings with the authorities and integrate other cultures. In the Rhenish harmony model, everyday life and the extraordinary simply go together. "The Rhenish diminutive gives greatness a human and Rhenish touch. That's how the Lord God becomes the Herrjöttsche."
(Christoph Fuchs)

1
Isabelle de Bortoli, Rheinländer sind wirklich so, Rheinische Post, July 11, 2007, https://rp-online.de/nrw/panorama/rheinlaender-sind-wirklich-so_aid-11185343 (January 16, 2024)