Saturday 25 August 2012

Henri Fantin-Latour and Vase of Peonies

 'Vase of Peonies' (1902) by Henri Fantin-Latour; Private Collection

When you google the paintings of today's French artist Henri Fantin-Latour, born on 14 January 1836 and died on 25 August 1904, you see mainly paintings of flowers and group portraits. But there are also some nice single portraits so I had initially chosen Portrait of Sonia as today's painting. I wanted to add some links to a couple of his still life paintings because I have to say they are quite exquisite. I wanted to show you these still lifes (click here and here and here) and had chosen the painting of the 'Vase of Peonies' as an added link. But then looking at it closer, I liked it so much that I decided to use it for today. I hardly have done any posts on still lifes and I love peonies so this is a good opportunity. Fantin-Latour was a contemporary of the Impressionists but his style was more conservative. His paintings are done in an almost photographic realistic style. The use of colour is intense. His group portraits are of contemporary Parisian artists (e.g. Eugène Delacroix, Manet, Monet, Renoir) who were friends of his. These paintings have become important historical documents.

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