Sheet: paper, colour print.
Frame: wood, tinting.
Two groups are shown on the sheet: girls in costumes from the 17th and 18th centuries, next to them a scroll with the words: “The Royal House of St Louis” written on it. It is the name of the first secular girl’s school in Europe. On the initiative of Madame de Mentenon, the morganatic wife of Louis XIV, a school with permanent residence was founded in 1684 in the village of Saint Cyr in the neighbourhood of Versailles. In 1717, Madame de Mentenon was visited in Saint Cyr by Peter the Great, who was interested in the project of an educational institution for women. During the Great French Revolution, the Saint Cyr School was abolished and the building was converted into a military hospital. In 1802, Napoleon ordered the opening of a military college in Saint Cyr.
The fan shows on the right a group of military men: cadets and graduates of St Syr. On the right is a scroll on wich is written: “Special Military School”. On the right is the signature of the artist: “M Ritter”. There is a reference to the engraver: Devambez, grav. Paris. On the reverse is the inscription: Bail, Cotillon, Paris.
