Life of Jean Louis Meissonier, from the Histories of Poor Boys and Famous People series of booklets (N79) for Duke brand cigarettes 1888

Editor: Here we have “Life of Jean Louis Meissonier,” from a series of booklets for Duke brand cigarettes, dating to 1888. It's currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Initially, the subdued colors give it an antique feel, and it's smaller than I expected. What strikes you most when you look at it? Curator: What a fascinating little treasure! It reminds me of finding a forgotten photograph tucked away in a dusty old book. These were mass produced, imagine a portrait in miniature, circulated with every pack of cigarettes! The portrait style with its flat rendering suggests something of both respectability, as if commemorating a grand worthy. Does the presence of this portrait of Jean Louis Meissonier, in the everyday life, indicate a form of elevating his work to something so accessible, while encouraging the opposite—the purchase and enjoyment of fleeting, smoky pleasures? Editor: That's an interesting point. It does seem to create an odd connection between high art and a common product. Do you think people buying the cigarettes cared about Meissonier, or was he just another face? Curator: Ah, that's the beautiful ambiguity! Perhaps some recognised him, a lucky few knowing of his grand canvases, whilst others would simply be intrigued by the kindly face. A prompt, if you will, for discussion! Consider the potential; an opportunity to elevate one's social standing in their time just through displaying knowledge about such men of artistic merit. Knowledge which they acquired by, of all things, enjoying a cigarette. Absurd, is it not? A collision of aspirations and desires! Editor: So, a small portrait, but a complex story. It highlights some inherent, unexpected dynamics. Curator: Precisely. Small packages, as they say! Editor: It's amazing how much you can read into something seemingly so simple! Thank you!