Pardon Day, France, from the Holidays series (N80) for Duke brand cigarettes 1890

Editor: This chromolithograph, “Pardon Day, France,” printed around 1890 for W. Duke, Sons & Co., depicts a French religious procession. It’s fascinating how it captures what seems to be an everyday scene with such detail. What historical layers might we uncover in this seemingly simple image? Curator: Well, at first glance, it's important to ask why a tobacco company would use this imagery. This was the era of high imperialism. How might the exoticization of European cultures contribute to colonialist agendas? Consider how this image might play into narratives about French identity and power abroad. What social hierarchies are reinforced, or perhaps challenged? Editor: That’s a good point! I hadn't thought of the advertisement angle. But what about the pardon itself? Is that part of it? Curator: Exactly. Religious pardons in Brittany were about community, penance, and reaffirming cultural ties. But whose stories are being told here and whose are being erased? For example, the labor of women, seen primarily as processing, or those that would've been excluded. Consider too, the way these events themselves contributed to an insular Breton identity. Is this an inclusive or exclusionary event? How does it relate to dominant discourses? Editor: So the image, ostensibly celebrating a cultural tradition, might also inadvertently reveal the complexities of power, identity, and social exclusion within that tradition? I didn’t think of it that way. Curator: Precisely. And keep asking: how does art reinforce existing societal narratives? These are things we should consider. Editor: Definitely! I’ll be thinking about this card quite differently now, thanks!