Groep nonnen, waarvan er vier een relikwieënkast dragen before 1899

This photograph, taken by Alexandre, shows a group of nuns, four of whom are carrying a reliquary. In thinking about this image, it is important to remember the social context in which it was made. In the late nineteenth century, the church was being challenged by new ideas and social movements. In France, from where Alexandre was working, the Third Republic was officially secular, and actively sought to diminish the power of religious institutions. With that in mind, we can think about the ways in which a photograph like this might have been understood at the time. What could the function of the photograph have been? Was this a private devotional image? Or, given the development of mass media at this time, could it have been used to project an image of strength and solidarity? In order to understand this image, it would be helpful to know more about the photographer and the context in which the photograph was commissioned or used. These are the kinds of questions art historians ask when trying to understand the meaning and significance of an artwork.