Henri Fantin-Latour, a French painter during 1836 to 1904, studied and approached art in his own style of painting. His character from his early childhood resolute the events of his life as a painter and his influence contributed in establishing his method of painting. In addition, Henri demonstrated his talent and mode of expression through various and progressive techniques that made him famous in England. Inspiration in music engaged Fantin’s painting approach in a different way. Henri’s version of the Swan, symbolizes his concept of Leda which signifies a combination of skills and refuge in painting.
However, my trip at the San Antonio Museum of Art is the reason why I am writing about Henri Fantin-Latour, particularly his painting of Leda that drew my attention on Latour. Henri Fantin-Latour real name was Ignace Henri Jean Theodore Fantin-Latour from Grenoble Isere Southern part of France. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Fantin’s father was influential in Henri’s career, as a painter himself, he taught drawing lessons to Fantin in his younger years. Henri expanded his studies at the Royal free art school ‘Petite Ecole de Dessin’ and also pursued a career at the Musee du Louvre (Valerie Bajou).
In his career, Henri replicated artworks from well-known painters for over twenty years and his work remained a place of study, analysis, and conception of design (Artdaily. com). Extraordinarily, during his entire career, Henri Fantin-Latour’s skills in painting are self-possessed complex styles in creative lithography (see fig 1), portrait painting (see fig 2), self-portraits (see fig 3), flowers and still-life’s (see fig 4), and “imaginative compositions” (see fig 5) according to Christine Cariati. Fantin’s transformation in art made him highly praised and well-regarded by he critics, predominantly in England. Figure 1 – Henri Fantin-Latour, Finale from Das Rheingold, Lithograph, c. 1877, (Cleveland Museum of Art). Figure 2 – Henri Fantin-Latour, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Edwards, Oil on Canvas, 1875, (Venetian Red Art Blog). Figure 3 – Henri Fantin-Latour, Self-Portrait, Oil on Canvas, 1861, (National Gallery of Art). Figure 4 – Henri Fantin-Latour, Roses and Lilies, Oil on Canvas, 1888, (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Figure 5 – Henri Fantin-Latour, The Palace of Aurora, Oil on Canvas, 1902, (The Metropolitan Museum of Art).
In 1871, Fantin pursued more in classical painting which beforehand he tried in 1862 with the Lithographs for Tannhauser: Venusberg (see fig 6) and decided to withdraw from portrait painting (Oxford Online). In 1876, the performance of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen was Latour’s first exposure to the music of Wagner in Bayreuth (Wagner Operas). To Fantin, it remained the most significant event of his life and by merging music and visual art together, he adopted the German medium of Lithography.
However, in pursuit of unifying both image and music, Fantin’s methods in varied textures and gradual tones were impressive. In addition, Fantin’s combination of inspiration and passion in music made his approach more intense and diverse. Henri’s commitment in excelling his technique proved to be exceedingly personal and projecting a sense of clarity. Figure 6 – Henri Fantin-Latour, Tannhauser, 1886, Oil on Canvas, (The Cleveland Museum of Art). The artwork of Henri Fantin-Latour’s “Leda” was exhibited during the museum visit with my son and mother at the San Antonio Museum of Art.
The art piece located on the third floor of the building, which we went back the second time around. The painting of Fantin was sited at the far end of the room through the corner where nobody would take notice of it. In fact, the painting is not huge at all, assuming its dimension is about fourteen inches in height by eleven inches wide. In my opinion, Henri’s painting was different from the rest of the paintings at the museum because the way it was conceptualized. Fantin’s main concept of his design is his own interpretation of Leda.
Visibly, the painting is about a naked girl sitting on a rock in the open air. In contrast, the combination of lines, colors, and textures arrays a different mood. However, the principle effects of the painting predominantly to project the main subject and composition suggests an elusive style. Latour’s intention in this painting is to attain his goals in perfecting both his masterpiece and his individuality, a version to demonstrate his originality. In Leda, Fantin’s painting technique is unique in style. The metaphoric representation of Leda symbolizes evocative manner of a peculiar image.
Inferred lines remain more specific on the subjects which suggest the presence of the rock, the girl, the red clothing, and the swan in the plainness of the outdoors. As well as, the lines conveys appealing gestures on each subject which made it significant. The depiction of the painting also suggests the combination of colors that blends in with the subjects will dull color hues. In view of this painting, flirtatious Leda stayed sitting naked on a green moss-topped rock, alone. Around her, a capricious luminous glow of white light transpired around Leda suggests her alluring presence.
The appearance of the Swan of a hazy white figure inferring running towards Leda as she stayed looking the opposite direction, unmindful of the attack. The delicate, subtle color of Celestine blue, blended in with the color of the swan, water, and sky. The burgundy red color on the left side of Leda’s symbolizes a clothing, perhaps she have on before exposing herself naked. The green rock signifies a comforting place for Leda to sit on it and perhaps the only witness to the events. The texture of the painting suggests smooth brush strokes with elaborate details of the painting.
For instance, Leda’s appearance, the flapping of the swan’s wings, the current of the water and the formation of the clouds almost distinct in composition. Overall, Fantin’s composition of Leda embodies a young girl in the Ancient Greek Mythology was raped by a Swan. The Swan was a God named Zeus. Fantin-Latour’s uniqueness in his painting liberated the technique of expressive form of Leda. Henri’s attempt to describe symbolic imagery signifies the state of the artist’s mind, as a consequence of this aspiration for an artistic haven.
The composition of Leda stands well defined in perspective of the subject, with the effect of different shades of tones of red, green, blue, and white that contribute to the unification of the painting. Leda, the main subject of the painting which gives a playful depth to the surroundings of the water, the sky, the swan, and the openness of the whole perspective. The vulgarity of her naked body does not expose in this painting in which Fantin portrays her delicate and her childlike innocence look because of the delicacy of the subject of her youthfulness.
Leda equally tantalizing as the painting, Henri’s effort of portraying her expressed Henri’s dedication and personal approach to emphasize the significance characteristic of an innocent girl in the painting in pursuit of perfecting her image. For this reason, by dominating his technique and style in painting, Fantin revealed his ability to render a sensitive matter into a broader perspective by not affecting both subject and image. Finally, the museum tour was productive in a sense that I gained more information about Henri Fantin-Latour’s life as an artist.
In my thorough research of Fantin, I learned not only to appreciate art, but also I learned to uncover the life of an extraordinarily talented artist, who demonstrated his enthusiasm, ambitions, and creativity, at his best in one piece. By saying this, I could only conclude that my experience at the museum, advance my understanding of observing art, not by simply looking at it, but by interpreting the work that brings forth the artist uniqueness in a piece of art. ?
