Portret van een onbekend bruidspaar c. 1870 - 1910

Alphonse Pestel captured this portrait of an unknown bridal couple in a photograph whose date is now lost to us. In this image, we see the rigid social expectations placed on men and women in marriage. The couple stands formally, embodying the gender roles and social constraints of their time. The man, in a dark suit, is positioned as the protector, while the woman, in a light-colored dress, symbolizes purity and domesticity. There is an emotional tension between the public performance of matrimony and private lives. The photograph asks whether traditional representations of marriage provide fulfillment or create restriction. Consider how this image both reflects and shapes societal expectations, capturing the couple’s hopes and fears as they embark on a life-long journey together, while being shaped by the culture they live in.