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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 <em>The Aeneid</em>, 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.

Page data

Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
344cfcea2bbb42b7
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
120821
Core
obj
Type
drawing
DTO data
{
    "id": "120821",
    "contentType": "drawing",
    "title": "Aeneas in the Underworld, Design for a Fan",
    "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 <em>The Aeneid</em>, 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.",
    "date": "after 1730",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1941.547",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q80016460"
    ],
    "creators": [
        1888
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Drawing"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1941.547/1941.547_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1941.547/1941.547_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1941.547/1941.547_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "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.)",
    "cul": [
        "France, 18th century"
    ],
    "accession": "1941.547"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "120821",
    "label": "Aeneas in the Underworld, Design for a Fan",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "drawing"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "120821",
    "contentType": "drawing",
    "title": "Aeneas in the Underworld, Design for a Fan",
    "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 <em>The Aeneid</em>, 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.",
    "date": "after 1730",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1941.547",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q80016460"
    ],
    "creators": [
        1888
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Drawing"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1941.547/1941.547_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1941.547/1941.547_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1941.547/1941.547_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "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.)",
    "cul": [
        "France, 18th century"
    ],
    "accession": "1941.547"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "watercolor and gouache",
    "tombstone": "Aeneas in the Underworld, Design for a Fan, after 1730. Follower of François Boucher (French, 1703–1770). Watercolor and gouache; 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.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Otto Miller, 1941.547",
    "supportMaterials": [
        {
            "description": "laid paper, laid down on two pieces (joined) of brown laid paper, laid down on a tertiary support of cream(3) laid paper"
        }
    ],
    "collection": "DR - French",
    "didYouKnow": "The 1700s is often considered to be a golden age of fan design.",
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1941.547",
    "creditline": "Gift of Mrs. Otto Miller",
    "updatedAt": "2026-06-02 11:23:17.499000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1941.547/1941.547_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 120821,
    "dept": "Drawings",
    "coll": "DR - French",
    "med": "watercolor and gouache",
    "creatorTags": [
        "male"
    ],
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
{
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    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1941.547/1941.547_web.jpg",
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