Portret van een onbekende kleine man en een onbekende kleine vrouw 1850 - 1900

This small photograph of an unknown boy and girl was made by C. Franzen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and speaks to the cultural fascination with royalty and the theatre of dress-up. The children are positioned on a patterned plinth against a backdrop that suggests a stately interior, complete with classical columns. But it is their costumes that dominate: the boy in a military uniform, complete with sword, the girl in an elaborate gown with a long train. The lack of specific detail suggests they are playing 'dress up', perhaps enacting a popular theatrical entertainment or referencing a royal wedding. The image creates meaning through cultural references to class and power, and reveals the importance of spectacle in late 19th century Denmark. These studio photographs were part of the rise of visual culture, where photographic studios encouraged a democratization of portraiture. To understand this image better, we would need to research Danish popular culture, including children's literature, theatre and the history of royal spectacle at the time. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.