Cleo de Merode and the Rise of Modern Celebrity Culture

The first English-language monograph on the French dancer and model, Cl¿de M¿de and the Rise of Modern Celebrity Culture explores the haunting legacy of this intriguing and glamorous figure, an international celebrity at the dawn of modern celebrity culture. Situating M¿de at a pivotal moment in the history of fame and visual culture, this study analyzes how technological and societal changes led to our star-struck modernity. M¿de was one of the earliest examples of fame born from mass visual culture, as newly available postcards circulated her image around the globe. Through M¿de, Michael D. Garval illuminates broader trends of the Belle Époque: persistent statue fetishism within a vibrant monumental culture, rampant exoticism amid unprecedented colonial expansion, the rapid growth of the illustrated press, the rise of female show business personalities, the advent of cinema and x-rays, and a burgeoning sense of new visual possibilities. The volume examines how M¿de heralded modern ce