Charles E. Lees, London (acquired by 1911)
Arthur Tooth & Sons, London
Williams & Sons, London
Private Collection, Vienna (acquired in 1962)

Mme Fantin-Latour, Catalogue de l'œuvre complet de Henri Fantin-Latour, Paris, 1911, no. 785, catalogued p. 85

The canvas is not lined. There is a nailhead-sized spot of retouching to the top of the right edge, a 1cm. line to the white flower to the lower centre and several thin vertical lines of retouching to the top right and top left quadrants, mainly to the background. All retouching is visible under UV light. Apart from a slightly milky varnish through which the UV light cannot fully penetrate, this work appears to be in good condition. Colours: Overall accurate though warmer in the original.
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The present work, painted in 1876, is an exquisite example of Fantin-Latour's most beloved subject, the still-life of flowers. Although he began exhibiting his floral still-life paintings in London at the Royal Academy in 186🅷4, it was not until the 1870s that Fantin-Latour solidified his reputation as one of the key painters of this genre. The versatility and endless possibilities offered by these flowers provided the artist with an infinite source of inspiration, and the present composition demonstrates the mastery and refinement that he reached in his mature work.

Fantin-Latour's paintings of the 1870s were marked by a purity and simplicity of composition, particularly evident in the present work. The chrysanthemums are arranged spontaneously and harmoniously throughout the canvas. Scintillating against the dark background and unobstructed by a vase or basket, the flowers are pared down to their intense rich colours and texture, displaying their pure beauty and elegance. The precision with which he depicted his subject, paying attention to the texture and various colours of individual flowers, displays the artist's virtuosity in capturing the ephemeral and fleeting beauty of nature. In his review of the Salon of 1889, Émile Zola described the artist's work as follows: "The canvases of M. Fantin-Latour do not assault your eyes, they do not leap at you from the walls. They must be looked at for a length of time in order to penetrate them and their conscientiousness, their simple truth - you take these in entirely, and then you return" (quoted in Edward Lucie-Smith, Henri Fantin-Latour, New York, 1977, p. 37).