Artwork
Still Life
Still Life is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Henri Fantin-Latour. It dates from 1866 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
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About this work
Pink peonies in a plain glass vase, set on a bare table against a dark background. Henri Fantin-Latour painted flowers again and again, keeping the petals soft and real, with no drama. Oil on canvas, 1866. National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Subject & Meaning
The painting's meaning thus resides in its celebration of floral form, color, and texture, inviting reflection on the ephemeral qualities of the natural world.
Fantin-Latour's Still Life of 1866 is a flower painting, a subject the artist pursued throughout his career alongside portraiture. The work belongs to the still-life genre and depicts an arrangement of flowers rendered in oil on canvas. As a floral still life, the painting participates in a long European tradition in which cut blooms carry layered symbolic associations, often evoking the transience of beauty and life through their fragility and inevitable fading.
Fantin-Latour was particularly known for his sensitive, naturalistic treatment of blossoms, and the choice of flowers as the sole subject signals a focus on quiet contemplation of nature rather than narrative or allegory. The painting's meaning thus resides in its celebration of floral form, color, and texture, inviting reflection on the ephemeral qualities of the natural world.
Technique & Style
Henri Fantin-Latour's Still Life, executed in 1866, is an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 62 by 74.8 centimeters and belongs to the still-life genre, specifically depicting flowers. The medium consists of oil paint applied to a canvas support, a standard combination for the artist's floral compositions of this period.
While the source material does not detail specific brushwork, handling techniques, or current conservation status, the physical attributes confirm the use of traditional oil-on-canvas methods characteristic of mid-19th-century French painting. The painting is currently held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having entered the institution via bequest in 1963.
History & Provenance
Henri Fantin‑Latour painted Still Life in 1866, an oil on canvas depiction of a flower. The work first passed through Reginald Davis in Paris, who sold it at Hôtel Drouot on 10 May 1909. It was later auctioned by A.T. Hollingsworth at Christie’s in London on 19 April 1929 and shared ownership with Knoedler & Co. in New York before Galerie Étienne Bignou arranged its sale to collector Chester Dale in June 1929.
Dale bequeathed the painting to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it remains in the collection.
Overview
Still Life, painted by Henri Fantin-Latour in 1866, is an oil on canvas depicting a floral arrangement. This work exemplifies the French artist's dedication to the genre of still life, for which he is widely recognized. It showcases his characteristic precision and sensitivity in rendering natural forms, aligning with the Realist movement's emphasis on depicting unidealized, everyday subjects with careful observation.
Context
As a prominent figure in French art during the mid-19th century, Henri Fantin-Latour was known for both his detailed still lifes and his group portraits of contemporary Parisian artists and writers. Still Life embodies the principles of Realism, a movement that championed the depiction of ordinary life and subjects over historical or mythological themes. His consistent exploration of flowers offered a counterpoint to his more public portrait commissions.
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Artist & collection
Artist
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.
