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Lot Essay
The bountiful blooms of Lys et fleurs diverses dans un vase bleu exemplify Fantin-Latour's mastery of the genre of still-life painting. Fantin-Latour’s richly painted bouquets offered a distinctive take on the tradition of the floral still life. Unlike his contemporaries, the Impressionists, who brought their easels outdoors and painted en-plein-air, Fantin-Latour carefully selected and gathered his flowers, bringing them into his studio where he arranged them into bouquets of symphonic color and texture. Fantin-Latour's extraordinary attention to detail derives from his personal connection to his subject-matter. He gathered many of his flowers from the garden of his house at Buri, and combined different species, some freshly picked, others wilting, to emphasize the brevity of their existence. Jacques-Emile Blanche praised the artist’s ability to capture the individuality of each bloom stating, “He captures the physiognomy of the flower he is copying; it is that particular flower and not another on the same stem: he draws and constructs the flower, and does not satisfy himself with giving an impression of it through bright, cleverly juxtaposed splashes of color" (quoted in "Fantin-Latour," Revue de Paris, 15 May 1906, pp. 311-312).
While this arrangement has all the spontaneity of a freshly picked bouquet, nothing in fact has been left to chance – demonstrating the artist’s mastery of composing form and light. Crowning the composition, the white lilies assert a striking vertical presence, their luminous petals unfolding with sculptural clarity against the dark ground. Beneath them, a densely layered pink peony anchors the bouquet, its soft, full bloom offering a moment of lush stillness. Surrounding these central elements, a diverse array of seasonal flowers—including pansies, daisies, cornflowers, and clustered wildflowers—introduce rhythmic variation and colorful richness. The overall effect is one of careful balance between natural spontaneity and formal structure, emblematic of Fantin-Latour’s refined approach to still life painting.
While this arrangement has all the spontaneity of a freshly picked bouquet, nothing in fact has been left to chance – demonstrating the artist’s mastery of composing form and light. Crowning the composition, the white lilies assert a striking vertical presence, their luminous petals unfolding with sculptural clarity against the dark ground. Beneath them, a densely layered pink peony anchors the bouquet, its soft, full bloom offering a moment of lush stillness. Surrounding these central elements, a diverse array of seasonal flowers—including pansies, daisies, cornflowers, and clustered wildflowers—introduce rhythmic variation and colorful richness. The overall effect is one of careful balance between natural spontaneity and formal structure, emblematic of Fantin-Latour’s refined approach to still life painting.