Portret van Munié before 1900

This is an opened book, undated, and by an anonymous artist; it appears to be a theatre programme. The layout of the printed pages immediately captures the eye with its early modernist arrangement and the relationship between text and image. On the left, a dense collage of advertisements, each a miniature study in typography and layout, creates a visual field with a functional aesthetic. On the right, the page opens up, revealing details about a play called 'La Porteuse de Pain', including a portrait of Mme Munié. This portrait, set within a decorative frame, serves as a focal point. The book invites a semiotic reading. Each advertisement is a sign, attempting to convey meaning and value through carefully chosen fonts and compositions. The contrast between the dense, chaotic advertisements and the ordered, theatrical page suggests a dialogue between commerce and culture. This contrast reveals the structural underpinnings of everyday life at the turn of the century, underscoring how aesthetics are embedded in even the most mundane aspects of our existence.