Performances with children were loved by the rising middle class all over Europe at the end of the 19th century. Simple, minor virtues associated with rural and small-town life were often magnified into narrative scenes. In the Netherlands, this genre was interpreted by, among others, J.M.H. ten Kate, in Victorian England Arthur Alfred Burrington was known for it. The painter was very internationally oriented, studied in London, Italy and Paris and died in Garda, Italy. Needless to say, these endearing scenes often gave a somewhat idealized picture of reality.