Mlle. Sorel, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

Curator: Here we have "Mlle. Sorel," a photograph from the Actresses series created around 1890 by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. These were originally distributed as promotional items for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. Editor: Immediately, I’m struck by the visual tension. Her placid, almost melancholic gaze contrasts so strongly with the playfully striped pattern of her costume. Curator: Indeed. Focusing on the image itself, one notices a deliberate play with texture and light. The soft gradations of her face contrast sharply with the crisp stripes, creating a dynamic visual field, with a strong sense of tonal variation between sepia, tan, and bone. Editor: I wonder how much control Mlle. Sorel, whose name we see printed at the bottom of the card, had over her image? Actresses were often exploited through the commodification of their likeness. The cards turn her into a branded product, contributing to a history of objectification. Curator: One can also analyze how it borrows from the Japonisme movement, so popular then. Consider the flattened perspective, the asymmetrical composition, and the emphasis on decorative pattern, which, of course, aligns with contemporary interest in Japanese prints. Editor: Absolutely. The aesthetics cannot be separated from that historical context. And thinking about the circulation of these cards… They functioned as both collectible ephemera and tools for marketing harmful products. The intersection of celebrity culture, advertising, and the tobacco industry is something we must unpack. Curator: But note also how the photographer captures something of the essence of Mlle. Sorel’s face, too. We see that melancholy but there is something else there, too. What can it be? Editor: Perhaps a glimpse of resistance? Maybe her look resists the confines of that performative role, urging us to see beyond the commodity. Even within these constraints, the complexities of personhood find a way through. Curator: This work is fascinating both in its structural qualities and how we can analyze its multiple layers of aesthetic influences and period attitudes. Editor: Absolutely. And I hope this look at "Mlle. Sorel" encourages viewers to really consider art's complicity in both reinforcing and resisting dominant power structures.