1864
oil
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Flowers: Tulips, Camellias, Hyacinths is a 1864 oil by Henri Fantin-Latour, a Impressionism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This still life shows tulips, camellias, and hyacinths in a simple glass vase. The flowers look fresh but slightly past their peak. Soft light falls on the petals, making the whites almost glow against the dark background. Fantin-Latour painted flowers like this for British buyers who loved quiet, pretty scenes. He trained with Courbet but chose still lifes over big dramatic works. Next, look up the Victoria and Albert Museum’s flower paintings.
A transparent vase holds tulips, camellias, hyacinths, hollyhocks, and wildflowers on a table, set against a dark neutral background. The arrangement emphasizes varied textures and subtle tonal contrasts, reflecting the naturalistic approach emerging in French art during the mid-19th century. This work exemplifies Henri Fantin-Latour’s early specialization in floral still lifes, a genre he developed through hundreds of compositions. The delicate interplay of light and color aligns with the period’s shift toward observational realism before the rise of Impressionism.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Ignace Henri Jean Theodore Fantin-Latour (French pronunciation: ; 14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers.
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