“Art of the Fan” Museum

The first and only fan museum in Russia is located on Kamennoostrovsky prospect, building 73-75. Its appearance is not only a notable event in the cultural life of the Northern capital, but also a significant contribution to the system of museum entrepreneurship in Russia. The revival of the tradition of private collection, lost after 1917, and the desire of the owner to show the amazing exhibits, formed the basis for the creation of this unique museum.

There are many collections of fans in private collections or in the composition of exhibitions of various museums in the world. However, there are only two main fan museums in the world, in addition to the one in Saint Petersburg. The first and the most significant museum of fans is located in the London suburb of Greenwich and is the family Museum of the Alexander family, formerly one of the most successful family firms of fan manufacturers. The second is located in Paris. It was opened in 1993 at a workshop that produced fans and is currently the world center of this specific production.

The collection of the “Art of the Fan” Museum tells visitors about the origin, history, and artistic merits and features of the fan as a work of art. Looking carefully at each fan in the showcases, you can notice the common features of the fans from a particular era, as well as unique and characteristic features of each particular national school.

Description of the collection:

The “Art of the Fan” Museum stores more than 250 objects, 160 of which are on permanent display – this is one one of the largest collections, the oldest examples of which date back to the 17th century. The geography of the exhibits covers almost the entire world: China, Japan and Korea, France, England, Italy and Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, and even Brazil. “Fokon”, “Duvelleroy” and “Alexander” – these are the companies that created the masterpieces of fan production; Nicolas Lancret, Norabel, Antoine Watteau, Boris Anisfeld, Eugene Priyer – the painters, who painted elegant items, considered as high examples of decorative and applied art, in addition to paintings on canvas.