FANTIN-LATOUR'S YOUTH

Henri Fantin-Latour was born January 14, 1836 in the town of Grenoble (France). Art was in his blood because his father, Théodore Fantin-Latour, was an art teacher and a portrait painter. When Henri was 5 years old, the family moved to Paris. Henri's father encouraged him to draw at young age and Henri ended up at the famous Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Starting from 1853, Fantin-Latour found his inspiration in copying the works exposed in the Louvre.


FANTIN-LATOUR AS AN ARTIST

Henri Fantin-Latour became friends with many great artists, such as Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet and Berthe Morisot. In 1858 he formed, together with James Abbott Whistler and Alphonse Legros, the Société des Trois. Whistler invited Fantin-Latour to England and that gave Fantin-Latour the recognition, especially for his flower pieces.

Meanwhile in Paris it was still difficult for any Impressionist to get a foot on the ground. Fantin-Latour took part in a few exhibitions at the Salon des Refusés, but he never acknowledged Impressionist theories.


FANTIN LATOUR'S DEATH

In 1876, Henri Fantin-Latour married a fellow painter, Victoria Dubourg, after which he spent his summers on the country estate of his wife's family at Buré, Orne in Basse-Normandie. In 1879 Henri Fantin-Latour was awarded the Legion d’Honneur medal by the French government. Henri Fantin-Latour died on August 25, 1904 in his mansion in Buré. He was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris, France.