Henri Fantin-Latour, Pt. 2

A Fantin-Latour copy of Veronese's "The Marriage at Cana."
169.9 x 250 cm (66.88" x 98.42")
His favorite painting at the Louvre, and he made no less than five copies!

Veronese's "The Marriage at Cana"
6.77 m × 9.94 m (267 in × 391 in)

 

"Although Henri Fantin-Latour was a successful pupil both at his first school of drawing and under Lecoq-de-Boisbaudran, he was a failure at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Admitted as a competitor in February 1854, he lasted for only three months, since those who judged the competitions in which all the pupils took part thought he was making no progress."

"For the rest of his artistic education he was forced to rely on the pictures he saw in the Louvre, where for twelve years he was an assiduous copyist, sometimes working for his own instruction and sometimes on commission. Even after he had begun to establish himself professionally, the Louvre continued to fascinate him, and he went on making copies there until about 1870."

"Through his work in the Louvre Fantin made many friendships, one of which was with the young and elegant Frederick Leighton, later to be Lord Leighton and President of the Royal Academy, whose Paris studio was already a rendezvous for fashionable people, and who was to help Fantin to get commissions from wealthy members of the Greek community in London. Another new acquaintance was Carolus Duran. However, his most significant encounters were with Manet, Berthe Morisot and Whistler."

To be continued...

(Excerpts are from "Henri Fantin-Latour" by Edward Lucie-Smith.)