Aeneas in the Underworld, Design for a Fan
after 1730
Medium
watercolor and gouache
Dimensions
{"sheet":{"height":0.272,"width":0.548},"secondary support":{"height":0.352,"width":0.647},"tertiary support":{"height":0.352,"width":0.647}}
Classification
Drawing
Department
Drawings
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Otto Miller
Accession Number
1941.547
Tags
About this artwork
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 op...