Apple Blossoms and Butterfly

Dr. James L. Yarnall writes of the present work, "Rather than a depiction of japonica, this is a design for the production of ceramic or porcelain ware imitating japonica. In 1866, the French painter and etcher Félix Braquemond (1833-1914) designed a table setting called le service 'Rousseau' based on designs from Hokusai's Manga. In 1876, Braquemond designed a Service Parisien for Haviland and Company of Limoges that blended Japanese and Impressionist styles...Braquemond's designs, no less than his ideas to apply them to dinner services, may have inspired La Farge to a similar undertaking. The service, if executed, has not been located. This picture does not appear to have been exhibited and originally belonged to Edward William Hooper, suggesting that he may have commissioned the sketch for a dinner service." (Nature Vivante: The Still Lifes of John La Farge, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1995, p. 134)