The Royal Society of Edinburgh @ Dumfries and Galloway Part of Lochinch Castle Garden and Plant Fair Professor

David Ingram VMH OBE FRSE Sunday 29 May 2011 Fantin-Latour Flower Painter Extraordinaire
Report by Kate Kennedy Henri Fantin-Latour (18361904) painted the most stunning pictures of roses and other garden flowers. In this presentation, David Ingram took his audience on a virtual guided tour of Fantin-Latours works, interpreting the botany and horticulture of these remarkable creations. Professor Ingram introduced his talk by advising the audience that most of the paintings he would be discussing were currently on display in an exhibition at The Bowes Museum, County Durham. The Bowes Museum was the gift of John Bowes, the illegitimate son of the 10th Earl of Strathmore, and his wife Josephine, a Parisian showgirl, to the people of County Durham. Between them they gathered together an amazing collection of art and decorative objects. Henri Fantin-Latour was born in Grenoble, France, in 1836 and was to become one of the finest 19th Century non-impressionistic painters of flowers. Originally, his paintings were not particularly liked by French society and, like many artists, he had difficult times where life was a struggle to survive. Fantin-Latours big break came about thanks to the artist Whistler, who introduced him to Londons artistic and intellectual society, including Mr and Mrs Edwin Edwards. The Edwards, in addition to purchasing many of Fantin-Latours paintings themselves, also praised his work amongst their society friends, helping him develop a base of patrons and eventually becoming his agents in England. This, obviously, was not without financial benefit to themselves. Henri Fantin-Latour met and married Victoria Dubourg, herself a talented artist. Soon after the marriage, Victoria inherited a family home in Bur, Normandy. The garden of this cottage was filled with an abundance of flowers, inspiring Fantin-Latour to create endless floral compositions. Professor Ingram presented and described images of a selection of Fantin-Latours paintings to the audience, identifying many of the plants therein and explaining their significance. Fruit & Flowers, 1866 Professor Ingram described this as an impossible painting, referring to the paradox of the spring flower selection positioned next to autumn fruits which were, in fact, models. Fantin-Latour used the same model fruits in a variety of paintings next to flowers from differing seasons. The painting also includes depictions of Narcissus poeticus, Old Pheasants Eye, an 18th-Century plant originating in the Mediterranean; Spanish bluebells and wallflowers from northern Europe. Still Life with Pansies & Daisies, 1880 these flowers were taken from the garden in Normandy. Professor Ingram explained how the word Pansies originates from the French word pense, meaning thoughtful, reflecting the face of the flower. Pansies

originated in the early 19th Century in England as a result of crossing two common violets: Heartsease and a mid-European violet. They were originally all single colours and by 1838 there were over 400 different varieties in existence. Later, breeding moved to France and patterned flowers were developed, as in the painting. Peonies, 1877 Professor Ingram suggested that the flowers in this painting probably originated from a florist. The word Peony is from the name of the Greek god of medicine and healing, Paeon. It is appropriately named as for many years it has been used as a medicinal plant. The original herbaceous Peony plants came from China in the late 18th Century. Napoleons wife, Josephine Bonaparte, had a massive collection of Peonies at her Malmaison residence in France, resulting in a flurry of obsession amongst the people for the flowers. The Peony was at the height of fashion when Fantin-Latour painted this image. White Lilies, Branche de Lys, 1877 This painting particularly shows how good Fantin-Latour was at painting flowers. The six stamens and anthers are very defined and are painted so that one can clearly see how the anthers articulate. The image also shows that yellow pollen has slipped down and stained the petals. The purple streaking on the depiction of the Lily makes it seem even whiter. Larkspur, 1892 Professor Ingram described this painting as having a sinister feel. The image depicts Larkspur, one of the most poisonous plants. The painting uses lots of colour and clearly shows the double flowers on the plant. The use of the whites and blues mutes out the softness of the pinks and gives a cold, hard look to the painting. Nasturtiums, 1880 This painting depicts the Nasturtium variety Tropaeolum majus rising up from the bottom of the page. Nasturtiums were originally imported from Peru and many early botanists named plants in accordance with similar scents from already named species. The Nasturtium, as such, meaning twisted nose was named after another plant in the cabbage family which had a similar peppery taste and smell. At a later date it was decided that this classification was incorrect and the name Tropaeolum, meaning trophy or shield and helmet, was given to the plant. Professor Ingram pointed out that the plants in this painting are all clones with double flowers and the only way to reproduce them was by taking cuttings. Capucines, 1887 These flowers were taken from the garden in Normandy and have a fresh look, as though they dont want to be captured. These Nasturtiums are reproduced by seed and show no uniformity of colour. The colour is very bright and at dawn and dusk, like with many flowers, this is even more intensified. Professor Ingram described the colour as baffling the eye. The glass vase in which they are depicted was a gift from Mrs Edwards and was designed by Gertrude Jekyll. Of all the botanical images Henri Fantin-Latour created, his most praised are those which depict roses. Indeed a Centiflora rose was produced in his honour in 1900. Many roses are very difficult to identify from paintings, as information such as their scent, leaf detail and extent of thorn detail is often difficult to ascertain from a twodimensional image. Professor Ingram described how, working with rose expert Peter Beales, he managed to identify most of the roses in Fantin-Latours paintings for the first time. These included the Maidens Blush rose in Pink Roses, 1875 and the Jacobite rose in White Roses, 1875. Both of these flowers are included in the Alba roses classification, which all date back to before the 15th Century. Many of the roses depicted in Fantin-Latours paintings can still be purchased and grown today.

Pink and Yellow Roses, 1875 The roses painted in this image are past their best and gently fading. The roses include Crpuscule, Gloire de Dijon and Hermosa. Crpuscule is a Noisette rose deriving from a chance cross in America which produced a new strain of good climbers with a heavy scent. Gloire de Dijon is a delicate Tea rose from the late 18th Century, often used in breeding as it has a pointed shape. The painting also shows Hermosa, a rose originating from China giving a good scent and an element of repeat flowering. Roses and Larkspur, 1885 Professor Ingram described how this painting was representative of many by Fantin-Latour as, due to their value, they were cut in half by unscrupulous dealers and sold for twice their price. Thankfully, this image has been restored and the two halves reunited. Rosy Wealth of June, 1886 This painting seems to include the whole garden of Bur. The scent in the room at the time of painting must have been overwhelming. The Delphinium was grown in France for many years and new varieties from Russia and North America strengthened the existing ones. The Amaryllis belladonna, an old French garden plant, has a rich fruity smell. Dahlia hybrids were brought across from South America in the later 18th Century and by the mid 19th Century were very popular in France. Other flowers in the painting include: Larkspur; Begonia; six rose cultivars, including a Bourbon rose; and Phlox, the flame flower with a snuffy pungent scent. Professor Ingram also included a painting of roses by Victoria Dubourg. Her paintings were not as monetarily valuable as those by her husband and, as such, dealers regularly erased her name from her paintings replacing it with that of Fantin-Latour. In later years, Victoria Dubourg made catalogues of all the paintings she and Henri created so that future generations would know which originated with each painter. Fantin-Latour died in Normandy in 1904 of Lyme Disease and is buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris, France.

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