(Grenoble 1836-1904 Buré)
A Basket with Grapes and Two Apples, signed, dated Fantin (18)90, oil on canvas, 41 x 51 cm, framed

Provenance:
Sotheby’s New York, 6 October 1989, lot 6;
Private Collection France.

Exhibited:
London, Royal Academy, 1891.

Catalogued in:
Madame Fantin-Latour, Catalogue de L’Oeuvre de Fantin-Latour, Paris 1911, new edition by B. M. Israel, Amsterdam/New York 1969, p. 149, no. 1419.

The present lot will be included in the catalogue raisonné of Fantin-Latour’s paintings and pastels, being prepared by the Galerie Brame & Lorenceau.

Painted in 1890 and exhibited at the Royal Academy in London the following year, this lot is a fine example of naturalism and an exemplary demonstration of a harmoniously balanced composition.

Henri Jean Theodore Fantin-Latour first gained a reputation as a floral still-life painter in England, and only attained renown in his own country much later on. He achieved great acclaim courtesy of the financial support shown by English collectors Edwin and Ruth Edwards. Thanks to their assistance, Fantin-Latour’s works were displayed at the Royal Academy’s annual exhibition. He exhibited there for the first time in 1864 and continued until 1900, showing no fewer than 81 works in total. He was especially successful in England.