Fotoreproductie van een schilderij van het erf van een boerderij door Jean Louis van Kuyck before 1863

Edmond Fierlants made this photograph of a painting by Jean Louis van Kuyck sometime in the mid-19th century. The image presents a romantic vision of rural life, one that was quickly disappearing due to industrialization. It asks, what is the public role of art during times of great social change? Fierlants, working in Belgium, reproduces this idyllic scene through the relatively new technology of photography. The image creates meaning through the nostalgic depiction of labor. In it, the artist references a pre-industrial past. The careful arrangement of figures, animals, and architecture reinforces a conservative vision of social order. This image is of its time but the question remains whether it critiques or reinforces the institutions of art. As historians, our task is to understand the institutional context in which photography rose to prominence, including the institutions that shaped both the production and the reception of art. By looking at these factors, we may better understand art’s complex and changing role in society.