When the Day's Work is Done Possibly 1877 - 1890

Henry Peach Robinson created this photogravure titled "When the Day's Work is Done". At a time of rapid industrialization, Robinson turned to photography to create idyllic and sentimental scenes of rural life. The image depicts an elderly couple in a humble cottage, evoking a sense of tranquility and domesticity. These depictions are idealized, and it’s important to consider how the image touches upon ideas of aging, gender, and class. The man engrossed in his reading, is positioned as the provider of knowledge, while the woman in her decorative dress quietly sits by. Robinson’s constructed scenes speak to the Victorian era's anxieties and desires—a longing for a simpler, more picturesque past amid profound social change. The image invites us to reflect on the emotional and material realities of everyday life, as seen through a lens that both romanticizes and carefully composes its subjects.