Valentine 1880

This watercolor and ink Valentine was made by the English artist Kate Greenaway, who died in 1901. Greenaway's images were very popular in her time, depicting children in a romanticized, idealized version of the past. Consider what this Valentine is saying about childhood in late 19th century England. What is the public role of images like this one? The answer lies in the politics of imagery: how do representations of childhood reflect the cultural values of that time? Here, we see young girls enacting a scene of courtship, complete with flowers and a little bird pulling a cart. This manufactured vision reflects a Victorian sensibility that valued innocence and sentimentality. To understand this image better, we might research Victorian children's literature and conduct a visual culture analysis of other popular images of childhood. We would find that this Valentine both reflected and reinforced the social norms of its time.