M'lle De Marsy, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

Editor: Here we have a piece from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a portrait of M'lle De Marsy. It's from a series called "Actors and Actresses" issued between 1890 and 1895 by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes. It’s an albumen print. The sepia tones and her slightly averted gaze give it such a wistful air. What catches your eye when you look at this, more or less what do you think? Curator: Well, it's intriguing, isn't it? Immediately, I think about the intersection of commerce and celebrity, or the way our notions of beauty become intertwined with the ephemeral world of advertising, in fact the work does feel ephemeral with her eyes set that way. But the real story here, for me, hides in plain sight with the Japonisme. Do you notice any elements that feel…borrowed? Editor: Now that you mention it, the flattened perspective and the almost decorative quality of her hair ornament… it does remind me of ukiyo-e prints! But why would a cigarette company use Japonisme? Curator: Aha! Because it signalled sophisticated taste! Japonisme was all the rage, darling, signifying an appreciation for the exotic and artistic. It's also ironic because these actresses endorsed cigarettes at a time before people were fully aware about cigarettes being harmful to peoples' health, therefore the exotic and the foreign becomes almost morbid, or perhaps a harbinger. And placing her within that context elevated their brand. Did anything about my own reaction surprise you? Editor: Absolutely! I hadn't even considered the Japonisme angle. I was so caught up in the portrait aspect that I completely missed the subtle advertising at play. That’s definitely changed my perception. Curator: Excellent! It reminds us to dig beneath the surface, my friend, for beauty often lies precisely where we least expect it, a double whammy for art itself.