Fotoreproductie van een schildering, voorstellende een portret van Dante Alighieri before 1873

This is a photographic reproduction of a painted portrait of Dante Alighieri, likely dating from the 19th century. The image is pasted into a book, so we must consider the context of its reproduction and circulation. In the 19th century, figures like Dante were often appropriated to serve nationalistic or political agendas. Dante, the poet of Italian vernacular, became a symbol of a unified Italian identity, a figure invoked to promote a sense of shared cultural heritage. To fully understand this image, one would need to investigate the book in which it appears, the specific context in which it was produced, and the motivations behind its inclusion. Researching the print culture of the time, the publisher, and intended audience, can help reveal the social and political functions this image was intended to serve. By examining these historical contexts, we can understand this reproduction as more than just a portrait of a famous poet, but rather as a cultural artifact.