Art Institute of Chicago

A Headpiece in the Form of a Fan

Agostino Carracci

Date

1589/95

Medium

Engraving on ivory laid paper

Culture

Italy

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Agostino Carracci’s fanciful ostrich feather headdress engraving could be cut out and mounted on a stiff backing, then secured to a woman’s festive coiffure. The central oval cameo of the virgin huntress Diana offers the wearer one identity; three other ovals could replace it or the smaller scene of a voyeuristic satyr observing bathing nymphs. These alternate cameos include the wiser goddess Minerva, the three Graces dancing, and Minerva and Poseidon. The relatively damaged and scuffed surface of the engraving plate reinforces the idea that the print was meant to be cut out and assembled, and so keeping the margins pristine was unimportant.

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