Carnations 1902

Henri Fantin-Latour made this painting of carnations with oil on canvas, and it looks like he was really going for it with a full brush of paint. I’m getting a sense of real generosity from this painting. Just look at the impasto in the petals, it almost feels edible, like cake frosting! I can imagine the artist, brush loaded, approaching the canvas with the same intensity that I feel when I'm about to tuck into a really delicious meal. There's a real love of the material here, and you can tell the painting was born out of a desire to capture the texture and color of these humble, ruffled blooms. I think about Manet and his flower paintings. Latour really invites us to linger and appreciate the sheer joy of painting, of seeing. In the end, that's what makes art so special – its capacity to open us up to new ways of experiencing the world around us, inviting us to see beauty in the unexpected places.