French painter and lithographer Ignace Henri Jean Théodore Fantin-Latour was born on 14th January, 1836 in Grenoble, Isère, France. The son of an artist, young Henri took drawing lessons from his father before entering the Ecole de Dessin, in 1850 at the age of 14, where he studied with Lecoq de Boisbaudran.
Four years later he went on to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and upon graduation, began working for the Musée du Louvre, copying old masters.
Henri was best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers. In addition to his realistic paintings, he created imaginative lithographs inspired by the music of some of the great classical composers of the time.
Although he became associated with Impressionist art and its artists such as Whistler and Manet, Henri’s work remained conservative in style. He made considerable success in England with his still-life work, although these works remained relatively unknown in his native France.
In 1875 he married Victoria Dubourg, a fellow painter. From hereon in, the two spent their summers on Victoria’s family estate at Buré, Orne in Lower Normandy. It was here that Henri died of Lyme disease on 25th August, 1904. He was later interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse, in Paris.
- One of his paintings, “A basket of roses” was used for the cover of New Order’s album “Power, Corruption & Lies” in 1983.
- Above image consists of a vase of white chrysanthemums and by definition, these white flowers symbolize truth and loyal love.
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