Sculptuur The Golden Age, voorstellend een zittende man en vrouw met een kind en een hond c. 1850 - 1880

Charles E. Goodman made this stereoscopic image of a sculpture, titled 'The Golden Age', sometime in the nineteenth century. The 'Golden Age' is a classical idea of a distant past of peace and prosperity. Here, a family group are pictured: a man and a woman are seated with a child and a dog. This idealized vision of familial harmony reflects the values of the society that produced it. What social function does such an image serve? It suggests an ideal to which people should aspire, but it also distracts from present realities. The image creates meaning through reference to classical sculpture. Perhaps we should ask what is omitted from this image? Where are the realities of industrial capitalism, urbanization, and class conflict? Art historians examine a variety of documents and sources to reconstruct the social conditions from which art emerges. By examining art as a product of specific social conditions, we can better understand its historical meaning.