Francesco Paolo Tosti (Ortona, Italy, 1846 - 1916, Ortona, Italy)
Folding Fan, 1897
Ink on paper with wood ribs, 33 x 59.1 cm (13 x 23 1/4 in.)
An open fan with bamboo sticks inserted into off-white paper leaves. On the leaves in black ink is written: "Pour Mrs. Gardner (Souvenir)", with a musical score hand-written next to it. F. Paolo Tosti signature is below the score. Below the signature is written: "Monte Carlo, 4, show 97". On the guard are silk threads shaped into Xs. At the head of the fan is a gray silk tassel.
Yellow Room
Commentary
This fan is a souvenir of Isabella Stewart Gardner’s meeting with composer Sir Paolo Tosti. A member of the Royal Academy of Music who was knighted by King Edward VII, Tosti rose from humble beginnings in Italy to become a fashionable composer of “salon music” in London during the 1890s. Gardner was a champion of artists challenged by early poverty, and this fan—inscribed with the words “Pour Mrs. Gardner” (for Mrs. Gardner) and “Je t’aime”(I love you)—may be read as a tribute to her compassionate patronage.