| Henri de Fantin-Latour was born in Grenoble where he first received training under his father who was a well known painter. He was also taught and influenced by Courbet. He went on to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and had his debut at the Salon in 1886. By 1870 he had received many prizes and in 1879 was awarded the Légion d'Honneur. He worked at the same time as the early Impressionists, yet retained some of the classicism of Delacroix. He painted superb portraits and was famous for his floral still-lifes. Fantin-Latour became one of the great lithographers of the 19th century, using subtle variations of line and density to model the light in his prints. His series of lithographs of scenes from opera are highly prized. |
