Larkspur 1888

Henri Fantin-Latour, working in the late 19th century, painted ‘Larkspur’ during an era defined by strict social codes and burgeoning artistic innovation. Considered alongside the paintings of his more avant-garde Impressionist contemporaries, Fantin-Latour’s floral still lifes operate within and against these traditional expectations. His paintings of flowers, rendered with a detailed realism, were highly sought after by the English middle class. The muted tones and close cropping of the flowers can be seen to evoke a sense of intimacy, while the lush arrangements might evoke a sense of bourgeois domesticity. Yet, Fantin-Latour also used his still life paintings as a space of freedom, outside the pressures of portraiture or history painting. As he once stated, "I paint flowers so that I can remember what they look like when they're gone." In his sensitivity to color and form, we see Fantin-Latour engage with the shifting qualities of light. Ultimately, Fantin-Latour's ‘Larkspur’ reflects a complex interplay of tradition and modernity. The artist's dedication to capturing the fleeting beauty of nature becomes a poignant reflection on memory, loss, and the passage of time.