Aeneas in the Underworld, Design for a Fan

after 1730

follower of François Boucher

(French, 1703–1770)

Culture

France, 18th century

Medium

watercolor and gouache

Support

Laid paper, laid down on two pieces (joined) of brown laid paper, laid down on a tertiary support of cream(3) laid paper

Measurements

Sheet: 27.2 x 54.8 cm (10 11/16 x 21 9/16 in.); Secondary Support: 35.2 x 64.7 cm (13 7/8 x 25 1/2 in.); Tertiary Support: 35.2 x 64.7 cm (13 7/8 x 25 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. Otto Miller 1941.547

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

The 1700s is often considered to be a golden age of fan design.

Description

Both practical and fashionable, fans were essential accessories for elite European women in the 1700s. Often decorated with elaborate motifs, a fan could reveal information about its wearer. It might expose a woman’s artistic or literary tastes, divulge her politics, or disclose her knowledge of current cultural conversations. The design seen here represents an episode from The Aeneid, a Latin epic poem, suggesting the owner’s interest in recent translations of classical poetry. It could also operate as a metaphor for the Enlightenment: seen entering a cave at right, the hero, Aeneas, travels through the underworld where he faces harrowing challenges and converses with the dead before emerging newly enlightened and victorious.