Mlle. D' Anjou, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 8) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Allen & Ginter’s ‘Mlle. D' Anjou’ is a small sepia photograph from the Actors and Actresses series, designed for Virginia Brights Cigarettes. Immediately, one is drawn to the figure's elaborate costume, which merges with a heavily textured backdrop, creating a shallow visual space that compresses the figure, emphasizing her form through costume. The photograph’s composition, with its play of light and shadow, destabilizes traditional portraiture. The artist’s flattening of space subverts conventional perspective. By doing so, the image prompts a semiotic reading. The theatrical costume and pose act as signs, evoking contemporary cultural codes of spectacle and display. The visual elements, while contained within a small format, challenge notions of representation and perception. Ultimately, the photograph functions not merely as a portrait but as a meditation on the performative aspects of identity. The figure, tightly laced, becomes an object of scrutiny, inviting viewers to question the boundaries between the authentic and the constructed.