Merchant of Venice before 1876

Alfred Brewer made this photograph called ‘Merchant of Venice’, and it presents a scene from Shakespeare's famous play. The image is part of an album, and the title indicates that it is from Act IV, Scene I. The photograph stages a scene with actors, referencing a well-known cultural source. We see characters in costume striking poses against a painted backdrop to create the illusion of theatrical space. This approach to photography suggests the institutional influence of theatre and painting on photographic practice in the late 19th century in England. But, rather than challenge theatrical conventions, this image borrows from them. The image is interesting for what it tells us about the construction of cultural legitimacy in this period. To understand these cultural hierarchies better, we can look to historical sources such as theatre reviews, exhibition catalogues, and photographic journals. These help to establish the social and institutional context that gave images like this their meaning.