During the 1860s Fantin-Latour gradually moved away from painting portraits and began to give more consideration to still lifes, he was interested in developing his powers of observation and began to experiment with colour, texture, form and composition. Encouraged by a visit to England where his still lifes had been well received, Fantin applied himself to creating a market for these paintings and in April 1862 he asked his friend and patron, Edwin Edwards, to submit one of his still-lifes to the Royal Academy in London. The painting was accepted and although he suffered from periods of severe self-doubt this heralded the beginning of widespread appreciation by both collectors and critics alike.

In the 1870s and 1880s, the exciting decade of Impressionism, Fantin-Latour was at the height of his powers. The sensuous, painterly treatment of his subject and the understanding of their structure came not only from an awareness of the exuberant brushwork of the Impressionists, but also from years of studying and copying the Old Masters during his academic training. His rich, assured technique is influenced both by Chardin and by Venetian masters such as Titian. Gracefully and objectively, Fantin-Latour translates the essence of the flowers into paint.

‘Fantin was more intent than Manet to record and contrast the surface characteristics of the flowers and fruit by varying the paint texture and application…..the velvety quality of the peach skin is produced by the deft juxtaposition of transparent and opaque layers of paint.’ (Fantin-Latour, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1983, Exhibition catalogue, p 114). The simple, almost effortless, arrangement of Fleurs et fruits and the delicate treatment of the crisp white table cloth reveals the influence of Jean-Siméon Chardin whose work had a great influence on the development of Fantin’s still life paintings. In 1859 he had copied some of Chardin’s paintings in the Louvre and in 1860 he visited a retrospective exhibition of Chardin’s work in Paris at the Galerie Martinet.

Fantin-Latour painted his still lifes in the studio, usually against a simple piece of grey cloth or cardboard, which emphasised the delicate balance of his compositions. In the present painting the artist has an exquisite understanding of the light on the varying levels of flowers and fruit, the artlessly arranged jug of vibrant asters, are framed by a simple tray of peaches and enticing heap of grapes, each one reflecting a tiny speck of light. He preferred to paint pastel flowers and in this work his control of tones, from deep violet through yellows, pinks and greens to cream and white is handled with his incomparable skill.

In 1876 Fantin-Latour married a young artist, Victoria Dubourg, whom he had met when both were copying paintings in the Louvre. After their marriage the couple spent summers at Victoria’s small country house at Buré in Lower Normandy, where many of Fantin’s later flower paintings were made. He preferred old-fashioned, rather neglected cottage gardens, full of larkspur, chrysanthemum, hollyhocks, poppies, sweet peas, forget-me-not and carnations. His favourite flower was the rose and still lifes of roses – the heavy-headed, sweet-scented nineteenth-century rose – are among the finest expressions of his art. Fantin preferred simple compositions and a restricted range of colours. Jacques-Emile Blanche famously wrote of him: ‘Fantin studied each flower, its grain, its tissue, as if it were a human face’.

Fleurs et fruits was acquired directly from Fantin-Latour by his friend and mentor Edwin Edwards who with his wife, Ruth, was one of the artist’s staunchest patrons. They had met whilst Edwards was staying with James McNeill Whistler’s sister in London in 1859. Edwards, a former King’s Proctor and keen amateur painter, shared with Fantin-Latour a passion for music. He bought many of Fantin-Latour’s still lifes and became in effect his English dealer, in 1872 clearing the artist’s studio of sketches, still life and flower pieces after the privations of the Franco-Prussian was and establishing a buoyant market for his work in England. The painting swiftly passed into the hands of the Manchester dealer, W. E. Hamer who sold it in 1877 to the renowned local collector Samuel Barlow whose dye and bleach works were in Manchester and who formed one of the first collections of Impressionist paintings in England.

Fantin-Latour painted his flowers and fruit in the studio, usually against a simple piece of grey cloth or cardboard, which emphasised the delicate balance of his compositions. In the present painting the artist has an exquisite understanding of the light on the varying levels of flowers, the dark shadows of the foliage and the bright white of the china on which he has placed the fruit, his control of tones from the range of deep purple to white is masterly, the roundness of the flowers in harmony with the grapes glinting with light from the studio windows and the peaches with their soft, velvety skin.

HENRI FANTIN-LATOUR
Grenoble 1836 - 1904 Buré

Henri Fantin-Latour was a painter of romantic figure subjects, portrait groups and still-life. He received his earliest training from his father, a portrait painter, and in 1850, entered the studio of Lecoq de Boisbaudran. Later, he studied under Courbet at the Ecole des Beaux Arts.

Much of his time was spent copying works in the Louvre, which he sold mostly to american and English clients. It was there he met Manet in 1857 Whistler in 1858 and Victoria Dubourg, his future wife.

Fantin-Latour first exhibited at the Salon in 1861, and continued to contribute works almost annually up until 1876. Amongst his best known paintings where his group portraits, providing a gallery of prominent personalties including artists, writers and musicians.

In 1859, Whistler persuaded Fantin-Latour to visit England, where he met Edwin Edwards who was to become a life-long friend and patron. In England, he became particularly popular for his still life and flower paintings, notable for the restraint and elegance of their colour and composition. Greatly admired by his contemporaries Jacques Emile Blanche wrote, 'Fantin studied each flower, each petal, its grain, its tissue, as if it were a human face...'

Towards the end of his life, Fantin-Latour became increasingly absorbed in music and developed a passion for Wagner, who inspired his more imaginative works which both in subject and style, show a strong affinity with the Symbolist movement.