1895
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Inspiration is a 1895 ink by Henri Fantin-Latour, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This black-and-white print shows a shirtless man sitting in a dark, leafy setting. He’s holding a large feather fan in one hand and a small bird in the other. His hair is messy, and he looks relaxed but a little lost. The background is full of shadows and plant shapes, making it hard to tell what’s around him. The artist used a smooth, sketchy style that feels more like a drawing than a painting. The soft edges and shading give it a dreamy, almost ghostly look. If you like this style, look up lithography to see how it works.
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.
See the richer artist page
