Artwork
Eventail plié
Eventail plié is an unspecified work on paper by Ernest Kees. It dates from 1893 and is held in the collection of the Palais Galliera - Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris.
About this work
Overview
Eventail plié, dated around 1893, is a watercolor painting by Ernest Kees depicting a folded fan. The work is part of the collection at the Museum of Ethnography. Rendered with precision and restraint, it captures the physical form and surface detail of a decorative fan, emphasizing its materiality and folded structure rather than narrative content.
Subject & Meaning
The subject is a single folded fan, its surface adorned with floral motifs, leaves, and ribbon-like patterns in soft pinks, blues, and greens. The painting does not convey a story but instead focuses on the object’s aesthetic qualities—its symmetry, delicate ornamentation, and the interplay of light and fold. It reflects an interest in everyday luxury objects and their visual poetry.
Technique & Style
Executed in watercolor, the painting employs glazing to build subtle tonal transitions and layered hues. The artist uses fine brushwork to render the fan’s texture and the intricate patterns on its surface. The medium’s translucency enhances the sense of delicacy, while controlled washes suggest the sheen of fabric and the soft gradations of color without heavy outlines.
History & Provenance
Its acquisition likely reflects the institution’s broader interest in material culture and decorative arts from the period.
Created in the late 19th century, the work entered the collection of the Museum of Ethnography, where it remains today. Its acquisition likely reflects the institution’s broader interest in material culture and decorative arts from the period. No documented prior ownership or exhibition history is widely recorded, suggesting it was retained by the artist or acquired directly for the museum’s ethnographic holdings.
Context
In the 1890s, European artists and collectors increasingly turned to intimate, finely crafted objects as subjects for study and display. Fans, often imported from Asia or produced in French workshops, were emblematic of refined domestic life. Kees’s painting aligns with this trend, treating the fan not as a utilitarian item but as a quiet object of visual contemplation.
Legacy
Eventail plié contributes to a modest but significant body of 19th-century watercolor studies focused on decorative arts. While not widely reproduced or influential in broader art movements, it exemplifies a quiet, observational approach to everyday objects. Its preservation in an ethnographic context underscores its role as a cultural artifact as much as an artistic study.
Artist & collection
Artist
Ernest Kees painted delicate fan-shaped watercolors called *Eventail plié*. These small, folded works were popular in France during the late 1800s, often used as gifts or souvenirs. The artist made several versions…
Museum
Palais Galliera - Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris
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