Curatorial notes
This print by Fritz Hanno depicts a vase of flowers with a fan. In the absence of dates, we can still consider how this image participates in a longer history of still life painting. Still lifes emerged as a distinct genre in the 17th century, particularly in the Netherlands, reflecting the growing wealth and merchant class. Artists like Hanno inherited this visual language, often associated with domesticity, refinement, and the sensory pleasures of the everyday. The fan, in particular, evokes a certain cultural milieu of leisure and taste. To understand this work, we would benefit from knowing where Hanno was working and exhibiting. Local exhibition reviews, artists' biographies, and sales records would help us understand how he and his work were perceived in his own time. By connecting the image to its historical context, we can begin to understand its social and cultural meanings.
