Le petit Russe 1860s

Pierre-Louis Pierson made this photograph, titled 'Le petit Russe', in France during the 19th century. It presents a figure dressed in a suit, who, despite the title, seems to be performing a kind of Russian identity rather than embodying it. The image creates meaning through a tension between the sitter's appearance and the cultural stereotypes associated with Russia at the time. France was undergoing significant social and political change, and a fascination with other cultures, like Russia, was in vogue. Yet the sitter's clothing, a bourgeois suit, conflicts with popular notions of Russian identity. This photograph may comment on the social conventions of its time, perhaps critiquing the way national identities are constructed and performed. To better understand this image, we might research the history of photography, French attitudes toward Russia in the 19th century, and the role of fashion in constructing identity. The meaning of art is contingent on its social and institutional context, and history is a crucial tool in its interpretation.