Henri Fantin-Latour

Biography of Henri Fantin-Latour ( 1836-1904 )

A painter of history, allegorical and mythological scenes, portraits and nudes, Henri Fantin-Latour also became famous for his still-lifes and flowers paintings. Son of the artist Theodore Fantin-Latour, he was born in Grenoble in 1836. He studied with his father, then worked in 1851 in the studio of Lecoq de Boisbaudran. He entered the Paris Fine Arts School in 1854 where he worked alongside Edgar Degas and Alphonse Legros. He briefly worked in Courbet’s studio and started exhibiting at the Salon in 1861. 

From 1850, Fantin-Latour made his first still-lifes which became his main source of income. He befriended the artists Manet and Whistler and exhibited with them at Bonvin in 1859, joining the so-called « Café Guerbois artists group », portrayed in his painting "A Studio in the Batignolles", for which he was rewarded in 1870. He received a second medal for two portraits at the 1878 Salon and was granted the Legion d’Honneur in 1879.

One of the most subtle painters of the second half of the 19th century, he used a very delicate technique, representing his subjects in a diffuse light. His portraits are full of grace and his studio views gave a sense of intimacy. He painted many subjects: portraits, genre scenes, allegorical compositions and flower compositions. 

A friend of the writers Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Zola, and of the impressionist painters Monet, Manet, Renoir and Whistler, he shared their ideas and struggles without ever adopting their artistic technique. Still belonging to the romanticism movement, his works, especially his flowers paintings were purchased very early by collectors.