Fotoreproductie van een schilderij door Edward Matthew Ward, voorstellend Dr. Johnson die een vrouw voorleest uit The Vicar of Wakefield door Oliver Goldsmith before 1880

This is a photo reproduction of a painting by Edward Matthew Ward, depicting Dr. Johnson reading to a woman from Oliver Goldsmith’s, The Vicar of Wakefield. Made in England, we might consider how the image creates meaning through the visual codes of literacy and domesticity. Goldsmith’s novel was published in 1766 and quickly became a popular work of sentimental fiction, and Ward’s painting, and this reproduction of it, participates in that sentiment. The country’s political and economic structures of the Victorian era created a society in which the ideals of domesticity and family values were highly regarded, and institutions such as museums and print media served to reinforce these values. This image reflects a conservative view of gender roles and social harmony. As historians, we can examine this artwork and its cultural context through archival research, literary analysis, and social histories of Victorian England. Art provides insights into the values and beliefs of a particular time and place.