Fan Design with Cats and Sunflowers

The most prolific of the avant-garde artists to take up the fan, Guérard produced more than three hundred examples. His first solo exhibition, held in late 1879 at the offices of La Vie moderne, consisted entirely of fans. His interest in Japanese art certainly initiated him to the form, but his playful, often witty designs are eclectic in their subjects and styles. The upright cat motif featured here carries an Egyptian resonance, recalling the protective goddess Bastet—appropriate for a fan, which could be used as a kind of shield. Identical and linked, the repeated cats are also reminiscent of a cut-out paper-doll chain, an art form that, like the fan, reveals itself through unfolding.