Drie jonge vrouwen in nachtkleding jagen mannen met bezems onder bed vandaan c. 1890 - 1900

Curator: This peculiar image, likely a photomontage, goes by the title "Three Young Women in Nightgowns Chasing Men with Brooms from Under a Bed." It comes to us from the studios of Sébah & Joaillier, sometime between 1890 and 1900. What are your immediate thoughts? Editor: It strikes me as deliberately theatrical. The arrangement of figures, the somewhat flattened perspective—it reads as a constructed tableau more than a slice of life. And those stark whites against the shadowy background create such a visual punch. Curator: Absolutely, the staged quality speaks volumes about gender dynamics of the period. These women, though presented humorously, are clearly wielding a form of power. Consider the gaze: they look directly at the camera, asserting their agency. We have to think about how eroticism intersected with control in visual culture. Editor: That’s an interesting entry point, especially in this highly formal setting. The diagonal sweep of the brooms creates a powerful dynamic. Semiotically, it's a direct challenge. And the choice of black and white photography almost heightens the starkness of the statement. I wonder if the artist intentionally created this through the restriction of the media? Curator: It raises a multitude of questions about spectatorship too. This work emerges amidst debates surrounding female visibility, rights, and social roles in fin-de-siècle society. The performance is central, as are the power dynamics and what they indicate regarding class and access to representation. How are gender roles reinforced or subverted in that very visible act of recording and viewing? Editor: And we mustn't disregard the materiality. As a photomontage, the deliberate joining of separate images highlights artifice and invites scrutiny of the visual vocabulary being employed. Curator: Precisely. By embracing the construction of the image, Sébah & Joaillier perhaps inadvertently exposed underlying power structures in play. Editor: The contrasting tonal values really lead one’s eyes across the visual plane with such captivating force. Curator: Indeed. The work becomes more and more fascinating the closer one looks! Editor: Yes, and delving beneath the surface has certainly enriched my appreciation of this intricate piece.