Fan Design with the Coloseum and the Temple of Vesta by Anonymous

Fan Design with the Coloseum and the Temple of Vesta 1700 - 1800

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drawing, coloured-pencil, print, watercolor

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drawing

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coloured-pencil

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water colours

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print

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perspective

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watercolor

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coloured pencil

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classicism

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ancient-mediterranean

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cityscape

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history-painting

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miniature

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building

Copyright: Public Domain

Editor: Here we have an anonymous work from between 1700 and 1800, entitled "Fan Design with the Colosseum and the Temple of Vesta," held at the Met. It uses drawing, colored pencil, and watercolor – even print media. It feels quite intricate and ornamental. What jumps out at you? Curator: I'm drawn to the fan itself. Think about it as a commodity. The materials involved – paper, pigments, binding agents – where did they come from? Were they locally sourced or imported, implicating global trade networks and colonial structures? The very act of creating something ornamental like a fan is embedded in socio-economic relationships. Editor: That's fascinating, I hadn't considered that. So the fan isn't just a pretty object, it’s a reflection of its time’s economy. Curator: Precisely. Consider the labor involved in its production, too. Who designed it? Who physically made it? How were they compensated? What were their working conditions? Understanding the social relations surrounding the object reveals more than simply its aesthetic appeal. Even the print media component reflects the growing industrialization of image reproduction. Editor: I see, you’re linking its materiality to its larger cultural place. Do you think this challenges a high art versus craft division? Curator: Absolutely! The use of drawing, watercolor, colored pencils, and potentially printmaking complicates established hierarchies. It compels us to question conventional divisions between "fine art" and more "functional" or "decorative" arts. Consumption habits become intrinsically connected to production methods. Who buys such a thing? What are they using it for? The fan itself becomes a site of negotiation between taste, wealth and labor. Editor: This gives me so much to think about. I guess, objects really can tell stories of making and labor! Curator: Indeed! Analyzing art this way transforms the object from simply being viewed as an image into a document unveiling social dynamics and productive relationships that might otherwise be obscured.

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