Seated dancer holding skirt, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

This small promotional card by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company features a seated dancer, and is part of the Actresses series. The sepia tone flattens the image, emphasizing the interplay of light and shadow that models the figure and her elaborate costume. The dancer's form is constructed through a series of geometric shapes, notably the conical hat and the cylindrical pedestal, which create a visual rhythm of rising and falling forms. Her tutu, a burst of tulle, acts as a visual bridge between the geometric and the organic. It softens the rigidity of the pedestal and hat while adding a sense of movement. The slight blurring around the dancer and costume suggests a subtle critique of fixed representation. By not being sharply defined, the dancer transcends the mere representation of a performer; she embodies the fluidity of performance itself. This card, though a commercial product, invites us to consider the unstable nature of identity and the power of visual signs.