Still Life with Roses and Fruit reveals Henri Fantin-Latour’s emerging talent in the delicate art of still life.
This work from 1863 presents a deliberately asymmetrical composition, where elements are organized according to subtle balance rather than traditional academic conventions. The vase, elegantly positioned on the left, holds a bouquet of Malmaison roses with pearlescent white petals tinged with tender pink. On the right, a golden pear with copper highlights harmoniously dialogues with a cluster of grapes in violet tones that spreads across the table. This chromatic juxtaposition already demonstrates the remarkable colorist sensibility of the young artist. Although the technique does not yet possess the virtuosity of his later works, this canvas announces his future mastery of realism and reveals his taste for refined chromatic harmonies.
Further information
- Still Life with Roses and Fruit, by Henri Fantin-Latour, 1863
- 34.6 x 41.6 cm (13 5/8 x 16 3/8 in.)
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue, New York, not on view
- https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436292
Henri Fantin-Latour (1836-1904) remains one of the undisputed masters of French still life painting in the 19th century. Trained in the innovative workshop of Lecoq de Boisbaudran, which emphasized direct observation, he developed a personal style combining the rigor of academic drawing with modern colorist sensibility. A fervent admirer of Chardin and the Dutch masters of the Golden Age, he profoundly renewed the genre through his discreet modernity and technique of quasi-scientific precision. A friend of the Impressionists while remaining faithful to realism, he quickly gained international renown through his floral compositions of striking naturalism, particularly prized by the Parisian bourgeoisie and Anglo-Saxon collectors.
