Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Featuring over 75 objects from across the Met collection, Fan
Mania examines fans and their widespread imagery among the
avant-garde and beyond. From December 11th, 2025 through
May 12th, 2026, the MetropolitanMuseum of Art will present Fan
Mania, an exhibition illuminating how the handheld
(00:23):
fan became an unexpected muse for some of the most innovative
artists in 19th century Europe. Fans became enormously popular
throughout European Society during this period, serving as
functional and fashionable objects of adornment and
communication. At the same time, new found
artistic appreciation for fans emerged, fueled by cultural
(00:47):
crazes for all things Japanese and Spanish, as well as
exhibitions and publications devoted to fan making and its
history. This display explores the myriad
reasons artists were attracted to the semicircular form,
including its commercial potential, its fashionability,
and the opportunities it offeredfor formal and technical
(01:08):
innovation. Fan Mania offers visitors an
intimate look at the fixations and fascinations that captured
the European imagination on the cusp of modernity, said Max
Holland, the Met S Marina KellenFrench director and chief
executive officer. Uniting objects from 8
departments across the Met collection, this exhibition
(01:30):
illuminates how handheld fans ofthe 19th century were not mere
accessories, but signifiers of identity and cultural exchange.
Ashley E Dunn, associate curatorin the Department of Drawings
and Prints, said fans are familiar objects to everyone.
We still see them in use around New York, especially on subway
(01:52):
platforms in the summertime. This exhibition examines a
moment in which ambitious artists in Europe became
captivated by fans, making worksin the distinct arched shape and
borrowing materials typically employed by fan makers.
The exhibition aims to show the broader context of this
phenomenon, a period when fans were ubiquitous, Lavishly ornate
(02:16):
and cheaply made fans, as well as objects with fan motifs,
flooded both specialty shops andthe new department stores.
Fan collectors ranged from the Impressionists and their
literary friends to bourgeois women bent on improving their
personal style and home decor, said Jane R Becker, collection
(02:36):
specialist in the Department of European Paintings.
Displaying more than 75 artworksincluding folding fans, as well
as paintings, prints and photographs from 8 departments
across the Met collection, this exhibition showcases artworks
from Europe and Asia to explore the 19th century phenomenon of
(02:56):
fan mania. The exhibition investigates why
avant-garde artists such as Edgar de Gas and Camille Pissaro
not only featured this feminine accessory in their work, but
also adopted it as an experimental format for their
art. Although avant-garde fans were
primarily designed to be shown on the wall and rarely intended
(03:17):
to be used, they retain many of the associations of functional
fans. Themes of gender, courtship,
commercialism, appropriation, and experimentation unfold in
this examination of fans as objects of visual culture in the
19th century. Exhibition Overview.
Fan Mania begins by exploring the design and use of fans prior
(03:39):
to the 19th century. Historically, European fans have
been most closely associated with the 18th century as the
period in which they first gained widespread use.
The examples here show the multitude of purposes that fans
could serve as devices of flirtation or amusement, tools
for education or propaganda, andprops for masquerade or covered
(04:03):
observation. Women were not only the
consumers of fans, but also among their producers, as fan
making was considered an art form appropriate for female
practitioners, whether amateur or professional.
The fan painting craze in Paris coincided with Japanisma, a
passion for Japanese art and culture that emerged in the mid
(04:25):
19th century. Many Impressionist artists and
their friends became collectors of Japanese art, including fans,
acquiring works from newly established specialist dealers
and shops. By the late 1880s, Japanese fans
were imported in the millions toFrance, where they were used
(04:46):
both as women, as accessories, and as decoration.
Spain became a center of fan production in the 19th century
too, and Spanish culture was also in vogue in Paris, a
phenomenon known as Hispignolas May.
Spanish born Empress Eugenita Montejo, who married Napoleon 3
in 1853, exerted considerable influence on fashion and taste.
(05:11):
Spanish dance troupes and musicians performed often in the
capital, and avant-garde artistssuch as Edouard Monet took them
up as subjects. For some artists who decided to
make fans in this period, it wasSpain that they had foremost in
mind. The theme of the bourgeois woman
with her fan in a domestic setting proliferated in art of
(05:34):
the last quarter of the 19th century.
Whether at home or on ventures out the handheld, fans served as
a companion, trusted protector, and elegant accoutrement.
As fashion accessories, fans signaled facets of their user S
identity through their materialsand stylistic form, as well as
(05:54):
in the way they were handled. A Japanese Achiwa fan in the
hands of the impressionist BairdMorizzo or a plumed fan held by
one of Mary Cassette S sitters displayed their alignment with
current taste and confirmed their social status.
Movement is an essential aspect of the handheld fan, and the
expressive qualities of a fan S motions are among the ways it
(06:16):
can convey meaning and reveal the user S personality, mood, or
intentions. Fan designs frequently
incorporate metallic paints, gold leaf feathers, spangles,
and sequins, the visual impacts of which are heightened when in
motion. Artists in the late 19th century
(06:37):
understood the fan as a moving object and attempted to capture
its dynamism in myriad ways. The fleeting and ephemeral
nature of its movement made it an appealing subject for the
Impressionists. As travel increased in the 19th
century, fans became popular as small practical and artistic
souvenirs. The universal exhibitions of the
(06:59):
second-half of the century were key events for the promotion of
the French fan industry and exposed the European public to
fans from other cultures. Souvenir fans were produced for
each of these occasions, providing information and maps
as well as recording the remarkable buildings erected for
the fears. Industrial advances in color
(07:20):
lithography and a growing population of middle class
consumers gave rise to advertising fans by the turn of
the century. In the first decades of the 20th
century, fans publicized department stores, perfume,
champagne, alcohol, hotels and restaurants.
Credits. This exhibition is curated by
(07:43):
Ashley E Dunn, associate curatorin the Department of Drawings
and Prints, and Jane R Becker, collection specialist in the
Department of European Paintings.
The exhibition is featured on the Met website.
Featuring over 75 objects from across the Met collection, Fan
Mania examines fans and their widespread imagery among the
avant-garde and beyond. From December 11th, 2025 through
May 12th, 2026, the MetropolitanMuseum of Art will present Fan
Mania, an exhibition illuminating how the handheld
(00:23):
fan became an unexpected muse for some of the most innovative
artists in 19th century Europe. Fans became enormously popular
throughout European Society during this period, serving as
functional and fashionable objects of adornment and
communication. At the same time, new found
artistic appreciation for fans emerged, fueled by cultural
(00:47):
crazes for all things Japanese and Spanish, as well as
exhibitions and publications devoted to fan making and its
history. This display explores the myriad
reasons artists were attracted to the semicircular form,
including its commercial potential, its fashionability,
and the opportunities it offeredfor formal and technical
(01:08):
innovation. Fan Mania offers visitors an
intimate look at the fixations and fascinations that captured
the European imagination on the cusp of modernity, said Max
Holland, the Met S Marina KellenFrench director and chief
executive officer. Uniting objects from 8
departments across the Met collection, this exhibition
(01:30):
illuminates how handheld fans ofthe 19th century were not mere
accessories, but signifiers of identity and cultural exchange.
Ashley E Dunn, associate curatorin the Department of Drawings
and Prints, said fans are familiar objects to everyone.
We still see them in use around New York, especially on subway
(01:52):
platforms in the summertime. This exhibition examines a
moment in which ambitious artists in Europe became
captivated by fans, making worksin the distinct arched shape and
borrowing materials typically employed by fan makers.
The exhibition aims to show the broader context of this
phenomenon, a period when fans were ubiquitous, Lavishly ornate
(02:16):
and cheaply made fans, as well as objects with fan motifs,
flooded both specialty shops andthe new department stores.
Fan collectors ranged from the Impressionists and their
literary friends to bourgeois women bent on improving their
personal style and home decor, said Jane R Becker, collection
(02:36):
specialist in the Department of European Paintings.
Displaying more than 75 artworksincluding folding fans, as well
as paintings, prints and photographs from 8 departments
across the Met collection, this exhibition showcases artworks
from Europe and Asia to explore the 19th century phenomenon of
(02:56):
fan mania. The exhibition investigates why
avant-garde artists such as Edgar de Gas and Camille Pissaro
not only featured this feminine accessory in their work, but
also adopted it as an experimental format for their
art. Although avant-garde fans were
primarily designed to be shown on the wall and rarely intended
(03:17):
to be used, they retain many of the associations of functional
fans. Themes of gender, courtship,
commercialism, appropriation, and experimentation unfold in
this examination of fans as objects of visual culture in the
19th century. Exhibition Overview.
Fan Mania begins by exploring the design and use of fans prior
(03:39):
to the 19th century. Historically, European fans have
been most closely associated with the 18th century as the
period in which they first gained widespread use.
The examples here show the multitude of purposes that fans
could serve as devices of flirtation or amusement, tools
for education or propaganda, andprops for masquerade or covered
(04:03):
observation. Women were not only the
consumers of fans, but also among their producers, as fan
making was considered an art form appropriate for female
practitioners, whether amateur or professional.
The fan painting craze in Paris coincided with Japanisma, a
passion for Japanese art and culture that emerged in the mid
(04:25):
19th century. Many Impressionist artists and
their friends became collectors of Japanese art, including fans,
acquiring works from newly established specialist dealers
and shops. By the late 1880s, Japanese fans
were imported in the millions toFrance, where they were used
(04:46):
both as women, as accessories, and as decoration.
Spain became a center of fan production in the 19th century
too, and Spanish culture was also in vogue in Paris, a
phenomenon known as Hispignolas May.
Spanish born Empress Eugenita Montejo, who married Napoleon 3
in 1853, exerted considerable influence on fashion and taste.
(05:11):
Spanish dance troupes and musicians performed often in the
capital, and avant-garde artistssuch as Edouard Monet took them
up as subjects. For some artists who decided to
make fans in this period, it wasSpain that they had foremost in
mind. The theme of the bourgeois woman
with her fan in a domestic setting proliferated in art of
(05:34):
the last quarter of the 19th century.
Whether at home or on ventures out the handheld, fans served as
a companion, trusted protector, and elegant accoutrement.
As fashion accessories, fans signaled facets of their user S
identity through their materialsand stylistic form, as well as
(05:54):
in the way they were handled. A Japanese Achiwa fan in the
hands of the impressionist BairdMorizzo or a plumed fan held by
one of Mary Cassette S sitters displayed their alignment with
current taste and confirmed their social status.
Movement is an essential aspect of the handheld fan, and the
expressive qualities of a fan S motions are among the ways it
(06:16):
can convey meaning and reveal the user S personality, mood, or
intentions. Fan designs frequently
incorporate metallic paints, gold leaf feathers, spangles,
and sequins, the visual impacts of which are heightened when in
motion. Artists in the late 19th century
(06:37):
understood the fan as a moving object and attempted to capture
its dynamism in myriad ways. The fleeting and ephemeral
nature of its movement made it an appealing subject for the
Impressionists. As travel increased in the 19th
century, fans became popular as small practical and artistic
souvenirs. The universal exhibitions of the
(06:59):
second-half of the century were key events for the promotion of
the French fan industry and exposed the European public to
fans from other cultures. Souvenir fans were produced for
each of these occasions, providing information and maps
as well as recording the remarkable buildings erected for
the fears. Industrial advances in color
(07:20):
lithography and a growing population of middle class
consumers gave rise to advertising fans by the turn of
the century. In the first decades of the 20th
century, fans publicized department stores, perfume,
champagne, alcohol, hotels and restaurants.
Credits. This exhibition is curated by
(07:43):
Ashley E Dunn, associate curatorin the Department of Drawings
and Prints, and Jane R Becker, collection specialist in the
Department of European Paintings.
The exhibition is featured on the Met website.
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