The Madame B Album c. 1870s

Curator: This is a page from "The Madame B Album," dating back to the 1870s. The album, held here at The Art Institute of Chicago, features photographs and prints interwoven with watercolor and coloured pencil drawings by Marie-Blanche Hennelle Fournier. Editor: My first thought is, it's delightfully bizarre! The contrast between the rigidly geometrical cityscapes and the free-flowing organic vines is incredibly striking. Curator: Hennelle Fournier used a diverse range of readily available materials and combined media in interesting ways to create the album. This wasn't fine art intended for a gallery. It’s an example of the artistic activity of a bourgeois woman filling her time and producing an object for personal consumption. The artistic choices show her understanding of color theory and how everyday material could have elevated effects. Editor: Absolutely. Let’s focus on the composition a bit. Notice how the photograph in the center—that vertiginous, almost upside-down view—is framed by a watercolor trellis teeming with grape vines and other foliage. It’s a very clever structural device that highlights both geometric forms and biomorphic shapes to contrast order against disorder in an intriguing, pleasing arrangement of positive and negative space. Curator: Exactly! She is juxtaposing the "modern" world, represented by photographs and the built urban environment, with nature. The labor of producing wine, indicated by the grapes, transforms both the photograph and the social rituals around artmaking. Editor: The palette is also very engaging. The muted tones of the sepia-toned photographs complement the more vibrant watercolor greens and purples. Note the detail of the grape leaves and clusters. This juxtaposition offers viewers a chance to visually interpret modernity. Curator: And importantly, this was an album for personal consumption, reflecting the tastes and social world of its maker. It points to the domestic role of women and the creative outlets that women would often pursue with little recognition. Editor: Considering the choices behind the color, pattern, and that surprising compositional structure gives the entire piece a feeling of sophistication. Thank you. It feels so interesting to know these details, especially about materials! Curator: A new perspective for seeing the album with greater knowledge of her context and choices can add so much!