25 portretten van Georgette Leblanc, Miss Guest en Fernande Dubois before 1897

This page presents 25 portraits of Georgette Leblanc, Miss Guest, and Fernande Dubois, made by an anonymous artist. The arrangement immediately strikes us with its grid-like structure, a systematic display of variations within a confined space. This format turns the individuals into subjects of serial study, almost cataloging them. The sepia tones contribute to a sense of distance and uniformity, suggesting a detached, objective gaze. Each photograph, framed within its own rectangle, becomes a unit in a larger composition, reflecting early photography's impulse to capture and classify human subjects. We might interpret this through the lens of structuralism. Each portrait is a signifier, part of a broader semiotic system defining identity and representation. The repetition and subtle variations challenge the idea of a fixed, singular identity, suggesting instead a fluid, performative self. This interplay between the individual and the collective, the unique and the repetitive, destabilizes conventional notions of portraiture. Ultimately, the work invites us to question how identity is constructed, framed, and consumed within a visual economy.