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Fan design with Republican assignats (French revolutionary money)

ca. 1795
Not on view
Fans could be political objects, too. Due to their strong association with the ancien régime, defined by absolute monarchy, fan use declined during the French Revolution. However, this leaf represents a popular design that emerged at that time featuring scattered banknotes (assignats) issued by the new Republican government. Rich with revolutionary symbols, the fan would have initially signaled loyalty to the Republican cause. By the late 1790s, however, the value of the monetary notes had collapsed due to the failure to limit the number printed, and the meaning of such a fan shifted. The worthlessness of these notes arrayed in trompe l’oeil (meaning "fools the eye" in French) underscores the insubstantiality of paper currency, which could be more useful, perhaps, for fanning the air.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Fan design with Republican assignats (French revolutionary money)
  • Artist: Anonymous, French, 18th century
  • Date: ca. 1795
  • Medium: Etching, a small portion printed in red
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 11 1/4 × 19 1/2 in. (28.6 × 49.5 cm)
    Framed: 16 × 21 in. (40.6 × 53.3 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1938
  • Object Number: 38.91.56
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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