Card Number 108, Bonfanti, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-1) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

This commercial card, crafted by W. Duke, Sons & Co., presents Mademoiselle Bonfanti, an Italian prima ballerina, poised en pointe. The dancer, adorned in a classical tutu, stands before a gothic architectural element. The commercial use of the performing arts image borrows from older archetypes of dance as a powerful and divine form, as old as the cult of Dionysus. Indeed, the ballerina embodies grace and ethereal lightness, an image that appears and reappears throughout history. We see echoes of Botticelli's Venus, reborn from the sea, in the dancer's delicate posture and poised expression. Yet, here, the ethereal form is anchored to commercial appeal, connecting to the human desire for beauty. The ballerina, like Venus, appeals to our collective memory, embodying ideas of aspiration, beauty, and fleeting perfection. This image, however fleeting and commercial, taps into these emotional resonances. We are reminded that symbols resurface and evolve through time, taking on new, unexpected forms.