Sculptuur van een Amazone, Vaticaan c. 1857 - 1875

James Anderson made this photograph of a sculpture of an Amazon at the Vatican in the mid-19th century. This was a time when photography was still quite new. What was its role in relation to older art forms like sculpture? The figure of the Amazon had long been understood to represent a fierce, independent woman, a figure who challenged traditional gender roles. How might that ideal have been understood in the 1860s, as women began to fight for expanded rights? How might the institutions of art, like the Vatican museum, have shaped the understanding of such imagery? To explore such questions, we can consult a wide range of sources, from art criticism to social commentary. The meaning of art is contingent on social and institutional context.