Fan Leaf Decorated with Caricatures and Reversible Heads 1790 - 1820

Curator: What a curious and busy sheet of paper this is! "Fan Leaf Decorated with Caricatures and Reversible Heads," dating roughly from 1790 to 1820. The anonymous artist used etching and graphite on this intriguing fan leaf design. Editor: Right, it feels like eavesdropping at a rowdy party! All these characters crammed together on a sage-colored paper, all slightly ridiculous. I wonder what stories they're hiding... or trying to hide. Curator: The placement of caricature within such an object, a fan, adds another layer. Fans were important social objects, often used as a silent language of flirtation or status. To decorate one with caricature suggests a commentary on society itself. Editor: It's like a snapshot of late 18th or early 19th-century society, only the faces are exaggerated, hinting at hypocrisy or maybe just good old human silliness. Do you think these are actual portraits, or more like types? Curator: Most likely, types, though perhaps recognizable ones to contemporary viewers. Caricature has always been a way to comment on political figures or social trends by exaggerating recognizable features or costumes. Editor: It does remind me of Hogarth's prints. I am just caught by all the elaborate wigs and hats. It really is a fashion parade of follies! And the 'reversible heads,' that’s just genius – a double dose of satire in a single face. How did this society value privacy? Everything's on display here, isn’t it? Curator: I agree. One can imagine someone fanning themselves, almost hiding behind a multitude of social types and then revealing aspects of character and commentary with a flick of the wrist. It puts the social rituals and class consciousness of that time period literally into the hand. Editor: What a find. This small object brings a breath of laughter and hints at the silent language and vanities hidden behind proper faces. You can practically hear the whispers. Curator: It definitely makes us question the relationship between the individual, the public image and social critique in a polite society on the verge of revolutionary changes.