ELEONORA DUSE [1901-28] Set of 3 photos

Np: Various, [1901-1928]. Set of 3 vintage original black-and-white photos: one 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm) studio portrait on board; one 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm) glossy silver gelatin photo; and one 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 (15 x 20 cm) glossy silver gelatin photo. Overall very good.

• Studio style theatrical portrait depicts Duse in her famous role as Francesca da Rimini in Gabriele d’Annunzio’s original Italian production of 1901, written just for Elenora by her lover. Information in Italian written on verso. Chipped at left bottom corner and overall soil. 
• Portrait for her portrayal in Ghosts and The Lady from the Sea for New York City performances during Oct. and Nov. 1923. Heavily used for newspaper publication with several clippings adhered to verso. From her finale tour.
• Portrait with stamp on verso announcing her final tour, there is a written date of 1928 and is specifically for the Broadway performance of Ashes. As she died in 1924, this photo is most likely from 1923. Minor soiling and rippling at bottom margin.

Eleonora Giulia Amalia Duse (1858-1924), often known simply as Duse, was an Italian actress rated by many as the greatest of her time. She performed in many countries, notably in the plays of Gabriele D’Annunzio and Henrik Ibsen. Duse achieved a unique power of conviction and verity on the stage through intense absorption in the character, “eliminating the self” as she put it, and letting the qualities emerge from within, not imposed through artifice.

Eleonora Duse performed her final tour in the United States between 1923 and 1924, which included performances on Broadway and other major American cities. While Cenere [Ashes] is a 1916 film she starred in, her 1923–1924 American tour–her final, as she died in Pittsburgh in April 1924–included roles in The Closed Door, Ghosts and Thy Will be Done.