Drie figuren lopen over straat, één man leest een brief 1833 - 1880

Auguste Numans made this print of three figures walking in the street, with one man reading a letter, sometime in the 19th century. The print offers a fascinating window into the cultural fantasies of the time. The artist, a Dutchman, presents us with a scene that is supposedly set in an exotic locale, given the architecture and the dress of the woman. The man's attire, however, seems more European. He is engrossed in reading a letter, oblivious to his surroundings and companion. Is this a commentary on cultural exchange, or perhaps a reflection on the skewed perspectives of the colonizer? To understand this image better, one could delve into the visual language and orientalist imagery prevalent in 19th-century European art, looking at the ways in which the "Orient" was constructed and consumed by Western audiences. This artwork serves as a reminder that meaning is never fixed but emerges from the complex interplay of social and institutional contexts.