Dido op haar sterfbed c. 1872 - 1879

Auguste Numans created this print, "Dido on her Deathbed," in the Netherlands in the mid-19th century. It depicts a scene from Virgil's Aeneid, where Queen Dido of Carthage takes her own life after being abandoned by Aeneas. The image is rich with visual codes reflecting the cultural values of the time. The romanticized depiction of death, the emphasis on female suffering, and the exoticism of the North African setting all speak to the orientalist and sentimental tastes of the period. The work reinforces the period’s gender norms, casting Dido as a tragic victim of male infidelity. This print also engages with the institutional history of art. Prints like these played a crucial role in disseminating classical narratives to a wider audience. They made art and literature more accessible and shaped public perceptions of history and culture. To fully understand this work, a historian might explore the publishing industry, artistic conventions, and popular literature of the Netherlands in the 19th century. The meaning of art is always tied to its social and institutional context.