Groep mensen in zeventiende-eeuwse kleding op een podium tijdens de Tentoonstelling Vak en Kunst in 1897 in Dordrecht 1897

Dirk Gerardus Schnabel made this photograph of a group of people in seventeenth-century clothing on a stage during the Vak en Kunst Exhibition in Dordrecht in 1897. The photograph captures a reenactment, a tableau vivant, embodying the 19th-century fascination with historical pageantry. It also reflects the desire to connect with a perceived 'Golden Age' of Dutch history. But it also performed a cultural function, creating and reinforcing national identity. Who gets to perform history, and whose history is performed, reveals much about the power dynamics of the time. Look closely and you will notice the nuances of class and gender. Men often took center stage in historical reenactments, while women were frequently relegated to supporting roles, mirroring the social hierarchies of the time. There is a sense of nostalgia, but also perhaps a critical examination of the values and social structures that the past represents. This image serves as a reminder that history is not a fixed narrative, but is instead a story we continuously retell and reinterpret.