Finette (Mabille)

Many of Nadar's subjects were men who had achieved prominence in the arts, letters, or politics, with the majority known to us by their full names. In this studio portrait Nadar has identified the elegantly coiffed and costumed young woman only by her first name, "Finette," and her milieu, Mabille. The Bal Mabille was one of the more popular open-air dance establishments of the Second Empire. Finette is decked out in her finest dress, wearing the lace bonnet with silk flowers and bow for which the dancers at the Bal Mabille were famous. Her beauty mark and pin curl further distinguish her from the respectable ladies of her day. Her gaze angles away from the camera. If, as historians have suggested, Nadar insisted covering up her body in the paisley shawl that appears in other photographs, this working girl was possibly disappointed that her portrait by the renowned photographer was not more obviously revelatory of her charms.

Adapted from getty.edu, Interpretive Content Department, 2002; and Weston Naef, The J. Paul Getty Museum Handbook of the Photographs Collection (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1995), 54, © 1995 The J. Paul Getty Museum.