Miss Guerre, from the Actresses series (N203) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

Editor: This is "Miss Guerre, from the Actresses series" created in 1889 by William S. Kimball & Company. It's a photographic print, residing here at the Met. What strikes me most is her pose - confident, maybe a little theatrical, set against this somewhat blurred background. How do you interpret this work? Curator: The image presents an interesting study in form and figure. Note how the verticality of the standing actress is countered by the horizontal plane implied by the distant, almost abstract landscape. The object held aloft draws the eye upwards, but also creates a tension, an implied kinetic energy, against the static background. Consider also the tonal gradations – the deliberate blurring, perhaps, to focus the viewer's attention on the subject's face, neck and arm. How does this structured interplay affect your understanding? Editor: I see what you mean, the blurring almost isolates her, but I also wonder about the flattening effect of the photography and the japonisme art movement influence on portraiture in that period, don’t you think? Curator: Precisely. The artist uses compositional methods aligned with *ukiyo-e* to reduce three dimensions to two by flattening tonal gradients, thereby constructing symbolic depth, do you agree? Editor: Absolutely, I didn’t quite catch that on first view, now I do. Thanks for walking me through this! Curator: A fruitful exploration. The act of slowing down and seeing the construction gives much to a deeper experience.