Lydie Barel, Des Bouffes, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This is a portrait of Lydie Barel, des Bouffes, from the Actors and Actresses series for Virginia Brights Cigarettes. Here, the actress is adorned with flowers, a motif that carries a powerful emotional charge through history. In antiquity, flowers were linked to fertility and renewal, often used in rituals honoring goddesses. The layers of Barel’s dress and the floral arrangement upon her head connect her to this lineage, while simultaneously evoking a sense of ephemeral beauty, like Botticelli's Flora. This combination of fertility and mortality creates a tension that is psychologically potent. These symbols aren't confined to the past. Their emotional power resurfaces time and again, each era reinterpreting and re-contextualizing them. Flowers are often used to express complex emotions, weaving a tapestry of meaning that stretches across centuries.