Portret van een meisje en een jongen 1850 - 1900

C. Watson created this small portrait of a girl and a boy, likely as a memento for a family album. During the Victorian era, childhood was increasingly idealized, yet childhood mortality rates remained high, particularly in urban, working-class communities. The children are formally posed, but their expressions hint at the realities of childhood in this period. The girl’s slightly mournful gaze, the boy’s listless posture—these details offer a glimpse into the emotional landscape of children growing up when death was ever-present. This image asks us to consider how children were seen and how they experienced the world. Were they innocent beings, or were they also burdened by the socio-economic realities of their time? By inviting such questions, Watson’s photograph urges us to engage with the personal and collective histories embedded within these small, sepia-toned frames.