Le chemise Russe 1860s

Pierre-Louis Pierson made this photograph, "Le chemise Russe," in France, most likely in the 1860s or 70s. It depicts a woman, back turned to us, wearing what appears to be a Russian peasant dress, standing next to an ornate Western-style sofa. This image creates meaning through the visual juxtaposition of the exotic "Russian" attire with the trappings of French bourgeois domesticity. In the 19th century, Russia was often seen by Western Europeans as both alluring and backward. Pierson's photograph plays on this orientalist trope, setting the "Russian" woman apart from the viewer while simultaneously domesticating her within a familiar setting. As historians, we might ask: Who was this woman? Was she actually Russian, or was she a French model playing a part? What did the "chemise Russe" signify to French viewers at the time? Answering these questions requires archival research into fashion history, the history of photography, and the complex relationship between France and Russia in the 19th century. Studying the photograph in this way helps us to understand the social and institutional contexts in which it was produced and consumed.