Paul en Virginie door Robert Cauer 1850 - 1900

This photograph by Carl Heinrich Jacobi captures Robert Cauer's sculpture of Paul and Virginie. It illustrates a scene from Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's novel, where Paul carries Virginie across a river, an idealized vision of love in a natural, unspoiled setting. Made in a Europe grappling with industrialization, this sculpture reflects a longing for simpler times, and romanticizes an exotic colonial location. The story itself, published in 1788, became wildly popular, influencing art, literature, and even fashion. It appealed to a sentimental sensibility, one cultivated by an emerging middle class eager for tales of virtue and innocence. Understanding this artwork requires a look into the publishing industry of the time, the rise of the novel as a form of mass entertainment, and the cultural fascination with the exotic "other." We should ask ourselves how this sentimental image also served to mask the realities of colonialism and class division.