[Ballerina], from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

This small card from Duke Sons & Co., designed to promote Duke Cigarettes, captures a ballerina. The dancer’s pose is not just a fleeting moment; it carries echoes of antique sculpture. Consider the dancer’s slight contrapposto, a pose where the figure’s weight rests on one leg, creating a gentle curve in the spine. We can see the same motif in antiquity with sculptures such as the Doryphoros of Polykleitos, which expresses the ideal harmony and proportion, a visual language employed to convey balance and grace. Over time, the meaning of this balanced posture has evolved. What was once a symbol of idealized form now speaks to the ethereal lightness of the ballerina. These figures, poised on the edge of movement, engage our subconscious. This image speaks to the power of collective memory. It is through these recurring motifs and the enduring appeal of the human form that past and present intertwine.