Elise Parent; Corinne 1861

Editor: Here we have André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri's "Elise Parent; Corinne," created in 1861. It's a photograph presented in a sketchbook. The series of poses gives it almost a flip-book animation effect, but there's also something unsettling about the repetition. What stands out to you? Curator: It's interesting you find the repetition unsettling. Considering Disdéri's role in popularizing the carte-de-visite, a calling card featuring a photographic portrait, the multiplication of the dancer reflects the increasing accessibility of photographic images to the wider public. Does that influence your impression at all? Editor: I suppose it contextualizes it a bit. So, these photographs weren't necessarily meant for artistic appreciation, but were a kind of social currency? Curator: Precisely. These cartes-de-visite democratized portraiture, moving it away from the realm of the elite painted portrait. What implications might this have had on social structures at the time? Editor: That's a great point. I hadn’t thought about how photography offered more accessible representation. The average person could, perhaps for the first time, circulate images of themselves. It’s like early social media! I can see how that could shift established hierarchies of representation. Curator: Exactly. The accessibility challenged traditional modes of visual power, offering opportunities for new voices and faces to enter the public sphere. Editor: Wow, seeing it through that lens changes my perception entirely. The repetitive poses now feel like a statement about accessibility and democratization, rather than something unsettling. Curator: Thinking about photography's place in 19th century society gives the work a deeper context, and illuminates its initial appeal, its cultural impact and historical legacy. It seems mundane, but it changed our world.