Mlle. Millet, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

Editor: This is "Mlle. Millet, from the Actors and Actresses series" by Goodwin & Company, a daguerreotype print from the late 1880s, currently housed at the Met. The sepia tones and the subject's theatrical costume create a very staged, fantastical mood. What do you make of its composition and texture? Curator: The visual texture achieved through the photographic process is quite compelling. Note how the sitter’s costume, likely velvet, absorbs light, creating depth against the flatter backdrop. Semiotically, the wings and antennae suggest a transformation, a blurring of the line between the real and the imagined. Do you see how the artist has framed the body? Editor: Yes, the framing definitely emphasizes her pose, and how she presents herself as an actress playing a role. The almost miniature scale, too, creates a kind of preciousness. Why foreground theatrical performance? Curator: Exactly! It’s about illusion, about the constructed image. Photography, at this stage, isn’t simply about recording reality, but about creating a carefully constructed artifice. Consider also the commodification inherent in the cigarette card format. Is the theatricality transferred into everyday use, creating desire in its consumers? Editor: That’s a fascinating point. So the subject herself becomes a kind of symbol? Curator: Precisely. This piece exemplifies how early photography could manipulate representation through formal elements. The textures, the composition – they all contribute to a specific visual language that goes beyond merely documenting a person. Editor: I never thought about the visual language of early photography being so consciously constructed, more about technical constraints. Thanks, I'm seeing so much more now! Curator: And I find myself further considering the object's implications, it's satisfying when new ways to approach art appear in front of us.