The ^Triumph of Love

Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt was an eminent artist and art historian. He acted as an Art Referee for the South Kensington Museum (later the V&A), recommending acquisitions. He and his wife were keen collectors of fans. They amassed some 400 from Europe and East Asia, which they donated to the V&A in 1876. Sir Matthew designed and painted this fan as a gift to his wife in 1869. The images on the fan leaf are an allegory on the ‘Triumph of Love’. Part of the inscription reads ‘For Love is Heaven and Heaven is Love’. It is signed ‘M Digby Wyatt to Mary Wyatt’.