The Madame B Album c. 1870s

Marie-Blanche Hennelle Fournier made "The Madame B Album" with albumen prints and watercolor. Here, Fournier constructs a visual narrative reflecting the social conventions and emotional nuances of 19th-century bourgeois life. The portraits of Madame B's family are carefully arranged, with her pampered pug at the center. This positioning is very telling: it elevates the pet to a symbolic position within the familial structure. This reflects a broader cultural trend where pets became signifiers of domestic comfort, wealth, and emotional connection. The delicate watercolor embellishments add a layer of artistry, softening the formality typical of portraiture. Consider how Fournier uses photography, a relatively new medium at the time, not just to document likeness but to curate an image of familial identity intertwined with social status and personal affections. The album becomes an intimate theater, where the roles of its players—human and animal—reflect a carefully constructed tableau of domesticity.