The Toilette of Cupid

This is a folding fan with a pleated, decorated leaf made of vellum attached to a set of carved sticks made of tortoiseshell. A fan was an essential accessory in the formal dress of a wealthy woman. The subject of the design on this fan is ‘the toilette’, which describes the process of getting dressed and preparing a persons appearance. This was a popular subject for a fan leaf in the late 17th century.

The design shows a large and opulent chamber opening on one side onto a view of a distant landscape. Within the richly furnished room, a number of putti are serving Cupid as he bathes, with three other putti preparing a couch for him to later relax upon. The opulent interior exemplifies the contemporary association between love and luxury. The scene combines elements such as music, food and flowers, making clear reference to ‘the five senses’, which was a popular decorative theme at this time. The scene in fact resembles a series of paintings by Jan Brueghel the Elder on the theme of the five senses, painted in 1618.

Certain aspects of the design suggest that it almost certainly celebrates the Appartement des Bains at Versailles. For example; the statues shown in the fan are very reminiscent of the designs by Le Brun, said to have been in the Octagon Room of the Appartement des Bains. They are here placed on supports typical of those used at Versailles. The opulent bathroom at Versailles may have been partially inspired by the splendid bathroom that Louis XIV's mother, Anne of Austria, owned in the Louvre which, because it was a novelty at the time, could have made a great impression on her son.

Madame de Montespan, the 'maîtresse en titre' (chief mistress) of Louis XIV, was given the Appartement des Bains as her living-quarters after her fall from favour in 1684, it having first been stripped of many of the furnishings. In 1691 she was then made to vacate the apartment in favour of the duc du Maine, her son by Louis.