Museum Exhibition
Fanmania
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
December 11, 2025 – May 12, 2026
The hand-held fan was an unexpected muse for some of the most innovative artists in 19th-century Europe.
Exhibition artworks
Representative work
Edgar Degas
Fan Mount: The Ballet
1879
Watercolor and metallic paint on silk
6 1/8 x 21 1/4 in. (15.6 x 54 cm)
View artwork at the museumFeatured works
Camille Pissarro
Fan Mount: The Cabbage Gatherers
ca. 1878–79
Gouache on silk
6 1/2 x 20 1/2 in. (16.5 x 52.1 cm)
View at museumHenri-Charles Guérard
Fan Design with Cats and Sunflowers
ca. 1885–90
Pen and black ink over black chalk or graphite, gouache and gold leaf on prepared (stiffened) patterned silk
12 1/16 × 23 3/4 in. (30.6 × 60.4 cm) [semicircle]
View at museumAbraham Bosse|Jean I Leblond
The Gallery of the Palace of Justice
ca. 1638
Etching; first state of two
Sheet (trimmed): 9 7/8 × 12 9/16 in. (25.1 × 31.9 cm)
View at museumUtagawa Toyokuni I
御影堂扇屋図|The Mieidō Fan Shop
ca. 1785–93
Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper
Each H. 15 1/8 in. (38.4 cm); W. 10 1/8 in. (25.7 cm)
View at museumBritish
Folding Fan Depicting a Mask
ca. 1745
Paper and ivory
10 5/8 x 19 1/2 in. (27 x 49.5 cm)
View at museumFrançois Boucher|Antoine Watteau
Femme assise, de profil à droite, jouant de l'eventail
1720–70
Etching
sheet: 15 3/4 x 12 3/16 in. (40 x 30.9 cm) plate: 12 15/16 x 8 7/16 in. (32.8 x 21.5 cm)
View at museum48 documented works in this exhibition
View all 48 documented works