Cherries, from the Fruits series (N12) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1891

Curator: How utterly charming! It’s evocative of a lost summer day. Editor: It is sweet. A touch cloying, even. Look at the application of color; see how the pink of her dress almost bleeds into the background. Curator: Allen & Ginter, primarily known for their cigarettes, released this card around 1891 as part of their "Fruits" series. It’s crafted with colored pencils and printed. They offered such cards as collector's items alongside their tobacco products. Editor: The composition, though… the flattened perspective, the subject almost pressed against the picture plane – it reads less as realism and more as an idealized emblem of youthful innocence. Notice the clustering of the cherries. Curator: Emblems they are! Consider the loaded symbolism. Cherries, historically, have represented temptation, desire, but also virtue and sweetness. In this context, featuring a young girl adorned with them suggests a kind of idealized innocence, almost bordering on the symbolic figure of youthful temptation in Eden. The cherries decorating the hat also strike me as a play on vanity, like adornments mimicking jewelry, playing up the girl's perceived attractiveness. Editor: Fascinating reading of it! I find the stippling technique used for the skin and clothing creates an interesting visual texture that works against the supposed 'smoothness' of innocence. It disrupts the flawless façade, if one can even call it a facade! Curator: The rosy cheeks contribute to the overall perception, though – they serve to create a sense of freshness and youth. It’s a rather masterful deployment of colors to cultivate an impression, whether real or feigned, it resonates to this day. Editor: Indeed, it lingers. And despite its simplicity, the artwork sparks discussions about beauty and innocence and marketing tactics of the 19th century, surprisingly enough! Curator: A small picture holding large resonances still potent today. Editor: Potent, provocative and visually very suggestive. A lot packed into one little image.