FRENCH SCHOOL, 17TH CENTURY A fan leaf with the theater...
FRENCH SCHOOL, 17TH CENTURY
A fan leaf with the theater of the Italian Comedy
inscribed 'Nec Pluribus Impar' (top center)
bodycolor on paper, mounted on panel
71⁄8 x 145⁄8 in. (18 x 37 cm)
Provenance
Acquired from Sylvain Lévy-Alban, Paris.
Literature
Greenwich, The Fan Museum, A Fanfare for the Sun King. Unfolding fans for Louis XIV, exhib. cat., 2006, no. III.3, ill. (catalogue by Pamela Cowen).
Lot Essay
This fan leaf has been dated to around 1688 based on its association with an almanac engraving of that year. It has been noted that the theater depicted here, with its double row of boxes and lack of curtains to close off the stage, matches contemporary descriptions of the Hôtel de Bourgogne, the home of the Italian Comedy after 1680 (Cowen, op. cit., p. 125).
Given the vast demand for luxury goods for use at court, the production of fine fans flourished in Paris during the 17th century. The rare selection from the time of Louis XIV presented in this sale was part of a larger collection assembled over a period of 26 years by the French dealer and collector Sylvain Lévy-Alban. Fans were delicate and ephemeral objects, these survive because they were mounted and framed as pictures.
By the end of the century, the hand-painted decoration of fans had evolved from purely ornamental patterns into more elaborate figurative subjects. The designs offer a wide range of representations, from allegorical and mythological compositions to depictions of contemporary events and royal occasions. They provide a genuine flavor of life at court: its rituals, its curiosity about the Far East, and the many interior details of furnishings and decorations, as well as of gardens and festivities.
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Time, Location
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FRENCH SCHOOL, 17TH CENTURY
A fan leaf with the theater of the Italian Comedy
inscribed 'Nec Pluribus Impar' (top center)
bodycolor on paper, mounted on panel
71⁄8 x 145⁄8 in. (18 x 37 cm)
Provenance
Acquired from Sylvain Lévy-Alban, Paris.
Literature
Greenwich, The Fan Museum, A Fanfare for the Sun King. Unfolding fans for Louis XIV, exhib. cat., 2006, no. III.3, ill. (catalogue by Pamela Cowen).
Lot Essay
This fan leaf has been dated to around 1688 based on its association with an almanac engraving of that year. It has been noted that the theater depicted here, with its double row of boxes and lack of curtains to close off the stage, matches contemporary descriptions of the Hôtel de Bourgogne, the home of the Italian Comedy after 1680 (Cowen, op. cit., p. 125).
Given the vast demand for luxury goods for use at court, the production of fine fans flourished in Paris during the 17th century. The rare selection from the time of Louis XIV presented in this sale was part of a larger collection assembled over a period of 26 years by the French dealer and collector Sylvain Lévy-Alban. Fans were delicate and ephemeral objects, these survive because they were mounted and framed as pictures.
By the end of the century, the hand-painted decoration of fans had evolved from purely ornamental patterns into more elaborate figurative subjects. The designs offer a wide range of representations, from allegorical and mythological compositions to depictions of contemporary events and royal occasions. They provide a genuine flavor of life at court: its rituals, its curiosity about the Far East, and the many interior details of furnishings and decorations, as well as of gardens and festivities.
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
