Henri Fantin-Latour

Edwin Edwards, London
Georges Bernheim, Paris
Durand-Ruel, Paris
Sale: Frederik Muller, Amsterdam, May 6, 1919, lot 108 
E.J. van Wisselingh & Co., Amsterdam
Acquired from the above before 1942 and thence by descent

Madame Fantin-Latour, Catalogue de l'Oeuvre Complet (1849-1904) de Fantin Latour, Paris, 1911, no. 606, catalogued p. 71

Fantin-Latour's floral still-life paintings were first exhibited in London at the Royal Academy in 1864. The paintings of the 1870s were marked by a purity and simplicity of composition, whereas the still-lifes of the 1880s were constructed with a more complex and detailed arrangement. Urged on by the example and influence of James McNeill Whistler, Fantin began experimenting in the subtlest possibilities of chromatic harmonies, thus simplifying dramatically the structure of his pictures. He abandoned his earlier, more ambitious compositions in favor of the more classically understated flower compositions, particularly appreciated by English collectors in the 1880s.

In his review of the Salon of 1889, Zola described the artist's work as follows: "The canvases of M. Fantin-Latour do not assault your eyes, they do not leap at you from the walls. They must be looked at for a length of time in order to penetrate them and their conscientiousness, their simple truth - you take these in entirely, and then you return" (Edward Lucie-Smith, Henri Fantin-Latour, New York, 1977, p. 37).