Lina Cavalieri on French and German postcards

The study analyses the representations of opera singer Lina Cavalieri (1874-1944) conveyed through photographic postcards produced in France and Germany during the Belle Époque in contrast to her career on stage. It can be seen that her portraits highlight the stereotypes of female fragility and dependence in force at the time even though they were produced during a career that denied them in certain respects. Paradoxically however they also establish a dialogue with trends in favour of a new sexual ethic and the expansion of spaces for female performance and affirmation on the public stage.