Basket of Flowers 1892

Henri Fantin-Latour, a 19th-century French painter, created this “Basket of Flowers” with oil on canvas. Fantin-Latour lived during a time of significant social change, as the rise of industrialization began to reshape societal structures. While his contemporaries were capturing modern life, Fantin-Latour turned to the genre of still life painting, a type of art that has historically been associated with women. The arrangement of blooms in “Basket of Flowers” suggests a controlled, domestic sphere which was often aligned with feminine virtues. These depictions existed within a patriarchal society that often constrained women to roles within the home. Fantin-Latour's choice to focus on the subject of flowers develops alternative narratives which appreciate the beauty and fragility of nature. The fleeting beauty of the flowers hints at deeper themes of mortality and the transient nature of existence. It reminds us of the delicate balance between the aesthetic pleasures of life and the underlying reality of impermanence.