What movement is Fan?

Fan is associated with Baroque.

Artwork

Fan

Fan is an ink print by the Baroque artist French 17th Century. It dates from 1601 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

The work titled Fan is an etching executed on laid paper, identified as a restrike print. It presents a compact, map‑like composition framed by elaborate scrollwork and laurel motifs, within which a miniature coastal settlement is rendered with meticulous line work.

Subject & Meaning

At the centre of the image lies a tiny seaside town, its streets winding among diminutive structures and a harbor populated by several ships. The surrounding ornamental border frames the scene as a decorative vignette, suggesting a celebratory or commemorative purpose rather than a narrative depiction.

Technique & Style

The artist employed fine etching lines and subtle hatching to achieve a sense of depth and three‑dimensionality across the paper’s surface. The use of laid paper, with its characteristic ribbed texture, enhances the delicate tonal variations, while the intricate scroll and laurel borders demonstrate a high level of craftsmanship typical of late‑Baroque printmaking.

History & Provenance

A dedication inscribed at the bottom reads “Dedicata Al Sig. D. Federigo Federici R: di Vico,” indicating the print was likely presented as a gift to a gentleman named Federigo Federici of Vico. The presence of a restrike suggests the image was reproduced after the original plate’s initial impression, a common practice to meet demand among collectors.

Apollo and a Nymph Leading a Lion, Crescenzio Onofri

Artist & collection

Artist

French 17th Century

Seventeenth-century French printmakers worked in burin and acid. See the Beggar Woman with Rosary (1622), etched on laid paper with her hands folded in prayer, or The Siege of La Rochelle (1628/1631), one sheet from a…