In The Lady with the Fan we again recognise Ensor's sister Mitche. She is standing upright and leaning on the back of a chair with her left arm. In her hand, she is holding a large green fan. Is this nothing more than a study of colour, light and material? Is it a portrait of Mitche, an attempt to portray the personality of this young woman? Or is it a new kind of genre tableau, a scene from the everyday life of women living in a new, 'modern' era?