Description
Though academic in manner, Fantin-Latour was independent in style.
French painter, printmaker, and illustrator known for his still lifes with flowers and his portraits, especially group compositions, of contemporary French celebrities in the arts.
Fantin-Latour's first teacher was his father, a well-known portrait painter. Later, he studied at the school of Lecoq de Boisbaudran and attended the École des Beaux-Arts. He exhibited in the official French salons, but in 1863 he also showed his work in the rebellious Salon des Refusés.
Manet and Whistler were among Fantin-Latour's earliest friends and in 1859 they made the first of many visits to London, where they exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1862. Fantin-Latour was known for his portraits as well as his flower pieces, and for group portraits celebrating the work of contemporary painters, including Manet and Delacroix. His still lifes were exhibited at the Salon from 1866.