HENRI FANTIN-LATOUR (FRENCH, 1836-1904)

Henri Fantin-Latour painted numerous sketches of flowers and fruit which were received with great acclaim in England, resulting in the acceptance of his still-lifes in the 1862 Royal Academy exhibition in London. The following year the American artist, James McNeill Whistler, purchased several of his still-lifes and commissioned several others. Despite his immediate success in London, his reputation spread more quietly in Paris; however, he was held in high regard among a small circle of fellow painters and critics in the Batignolles group; whose best known member was Edouard Manet. Painted in 1871, the present lot reveals Fantin-Latour’s mastery of still-life painting; the white porcelain plate contrasts against the darker background without distracting from the light which plays off surface of the carefully composed fruits.