Artwork
Eventail à système
Eventail à système is an unspecified work on paper by the Romanticist artist Unknown. It dates from 1830 and is held in the collection of the Palais Galliera - Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris. The object is a folding hand‑fan featuring a panoramic outdoor tableau rendered in delicate watercolor.
About this work
Overview
The object is a folding hand‑fan featuring a panoramic outdoor tableau rendered in delicate watercolor.
The object is a folding hand‑fan featuring a panoramic outdoor tableau rendered in delicate watercolor. Central figures—a woman in a vivid red dress shaded by a blue parasol and a man in a white coat—are positioned before a tropical setting with palm silhouettes, a modest temple, a winding river and verdant foliage. The fan’s border is embellished with gilt motifs and a series of small circular ornaments.
Subject & Meaning
The scene portrays a leisurely summer promenade, suggesting an idealized vision of aristocratic leisure in an exotic landscape. The contrast between the woman’s striking red attire and the cool blues of the parasol emphasizes her prominence, while the surrounding architecture and flora evoke a romanticized East, reflecting contemporary fascination with travel and the allure of distant locales.
Technique & Style
The interior image is executed in fine watercolor, employing translucent washes that build atmospheric depth and a soft, dream‑like quality. Thin pigment layers allow the paper’s luminosity to shine through, creating subtle gradients of light and shadow. The metal frame and handle are finished in polished gold, catching ambient light and enhancing the fan’s decorative appeal.
Context
Hand‑fans of this type were popular accessories among the fashionable classes of the 18th and 19th centuries, serving both practical cooling functions and as portable works of art. The inclusion of exotic motifs aligns with the period’s Orientalist taste, where imagined scenes of far‑away lands were incorporated into everyday objects for aesthetic and status purposes.
Artist & collection
Museum
Palais Galliera - Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris
Continue through works from the same source collection.
Domestic Scene
Giacomo and Cardinal Marco, investing Andrea, Abbot of San Zeno, with his Benefice
The Nymph of Fontainebleau
Portrait of a Woman
Madonna and Child with Saints in the Enclosed Garden
Venus and Minerva
Family Group of Four on Sofa
Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
