Fan

Scenes commemorating the marriage banquet were popular subjects for 18th-century fans. In this example, the fan painter has combined it with the taste for classicism and portrays the Altar of Hymen (god of marriage). As the bride and groom approach, clouds billow around the altar, a rainbow springs from the earth, and angels hold aloft portraits of the couple. The still-life vignettes on either side attest to the life of opulence and wealth that awaits them. On the reverse of the fan is the banquet scene, with magnificent silver, glass and liberal quantities of wine, all set in a pastoral landscape.