Portret van een zittende acteur in middeleeuws kostuum met lier als theaterattribuut 1880 - 1910

Deutmann & Zonen produced this photograph of an actor in costume, sometime in the 19th century in the Netherlands. It captures not just a person, but a performance, a role. The image itself is carefully constructed. The subject, seated and holding a lyre, is dressed in what the photographers imagined to be medieval garb. He looks like a troubadour or minstrel. Theatrical traditions in the Netherlands in the 19th century often romanticized the past, drawing on folklore and historical dramas to evoke a sense of national identity and cultural pride. Photography studios like Deutmann & Zonen catered to this interest, providing a medium through which individuals could embody these idealized roles. What did it mean to play a character from the past? Was it a form of escapism, a way to connect with a perceived golden age, or a means of commenting on the present? These are questions we can start to answer by looking at playbills, theater reviews, and other records of the period. Through that work, art history becomes not just the study of images, but a window into understanding the social and cultural values of a particular time.