Mlle Rousseau; Mlle Fioretti 1864

André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri created this photographic print of Mlle Rousseau and Mlle Fioretti sometime in the 19th century. Disdéri was one of the first to patent the carte-de-visite format, and the rise of photography coincided with the rise of celebrity culture and mass media. These images show dancers from the opera, possibly as publicity shots. We can analyze them in terms of the institution of the opera. How was dance perceived socially? What was its relationship to gender? What did it mean to produce images of dancers in this way and how were they circulated? The social conditions that made this image possible are complex, and we need to think about how the histories of photography, dance, celebrity and opera intersect with the social norms of 19th century France. To understand this image better we might consult archives of photographs and printed ephemera. This would help us better understand the role of art in its own time.