M'lle Annie Robe, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This is a cigarette card from the Actors and Actresses series, featuring M'lle Annie Robe. The dominant image is her portrait, crowned with a hat adorned with flowers. The flowers, symbols of beauty and ephemerality, harken back to ancient Roman festivals like the Floralia, celebrating rebirth. We see echoes of this floral motif across centuries; from Botticelli's Primavera to the Pre-Raphaelite's Ophelia. The wilting flower, a vanitas symbol, reappears through time, signifying mortality. Here, the flowers are robust, suggesting vitality and youth, yet their presence also invokes the transient nature of beauty, fame, and life itself. Consider the psychological weight of such symbols. Flowers are intrinsically linked to life and death. The collective memory of this duality engages viewers on a subconscious level, stirring a sense of melancholy. M'lle Annie Robe, immortalised on this card, transcends her own time, forever captured at the height of her beauty. The motif's journey is non-linear, a perpetual cycle of rebirth and rediscovery, constantly evolving, gaining new layers of meaning.