Irene Verona Dressed as Castilian Peasant, Spain, from the set Actors and Actresses, Second Series (N71) for Duke brand cigarettes 1888 - 1890

Curator: Here we have “Irene Verona Dressed as Castilian Peasant, Spain” from a set titled Actors and Actresses, Second Series, created between 1888 and 1890 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. It’s a charming little print, presently residing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Wow, my first impression is that it is screaming vintage postcard vibes! A real piece of preserved ephemera! Curator: Indeed. It's a lithograph with colored pencil on toned paper, part of a promotional set for Duke brand cigarettes. These trade cards were wildly popular, depicting actresses and other personalities, contributing significantly to late 19th-century visual culture and its intersections with burgeoning consumerism. It's fascinating to consider the portrayal of Irene Verona as simultaneously celebrating Spanish folk traditions while actively participating in the advertisement of tobacco. The layered dynamics of identity, cultural appropriation, and capitalist ambition is just so palpable. Editor: Absolutely! It is so red and theatrical –almost carnivalesque. The slightly off-kilter rendering of the clothing also somehow makes me think of a child’s drawing; imperfect, yes, but full of heartfelt passion. Curator: Precisely! The portrait taps into orientalist themes. The “Castilian Peasant” costume—carefully constructed and subtly exoticized—offers an intriguing gaze into societal constructions of "Spanishness" and performance during this era, which arguably perpetuated stereotyped cultural identities for commercial ends. Editor: You know, even in that commercial setting, looking at this little beauty somehow makes me think that somewhere out there, another dreamer like Irene Verona exists, maybe yearning for something bigger, just like all of us… That maybe there's a shared yearning to perform a starring role for a different stage. Curator: It's this layered performance, this representation _of_ representation that makes it compelling, both as an object of popular culture and as an artifact rife with contextual historical significance that unveils a rather unique, manufactured narrative. Editor: True! Even with the intended context surrounding the artwork itself and the culture from which it came, seeing it is like hearing a echoey whisper from a time capsule of sorts that will keep bouncing between souls willing to see more.