Mr Arlot
Hector Brame, Paris
൩Acquired by the family of the present owner in t💦he 1930s

Mme Fantin-Latour, Catalogue de l'œuvre complet de Henri Fantin-Latour, Paris, 1911, no. 1088

The canvas is not lined. There appear to be no signs of retouching visible under UV light. Apart from a discoloured layer of varnish, this work is in good original condition. Colours: The colours are overall much brighter in the original than in the printed catalogue, especially the background which is lighter and the colours of the flowers and leaves are more vibrant.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Roses is an exquisite example of Fantin-Latour's favourite subject, the floral still-life. Following an excursion to England in 1861, Fantin-Latour began to move away froಞm the portraiture for which he was first known, instead focusing on still-life paintings and became one of the key painters of this genre. The versatility and endless possibilities offered by 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.

In the present work, crisp roses are arranged spontaneously and harmoniously in a basket placed on a tabletop. Radiant against the monochromatic background, the flowers display their intense rich colours and texture, revealing their pure beauty and elegance. The precision and unique sensitivity with which he depicted his subject, paying attention to the texture and various colours of every feathery petal, displays the artist's virtuosity in capturing the ephemeral and noble beauty of nature.

This technique, which allows the artist to render differences in surface quality of various elements within the traditional still-life composition, owes much to the Old Masters whose paintings he studied at the Louvre, particularly those by the eighteen-century master Chardin. Because of the extraordinary eye for detail that he had developed as a portrait painter, the artist was capable of depicting each flower with remarkable specificity. According to Edward Lucie-Smith, 'His belief, academic in origin, that technique in painting was separable from the subject to which the artist applied it, enabled him to see the blooms he painted not as botanical specimens, but as things which, though not necessarily significant in themselves, would generate significant art upon the canvas. At the same time, the naturalist bias of the milieu in which he had been brought up encouraged him to try and give a completely objective description of all the nuances of colour and form which he saw in the bouquet he had arranged' (E. Lucie-Smith, Henri Fantin-Latour, New York, 1977, pp. 22-23).

The present wo♌rk was once owned by Hector Brame, an important art dealer in Paris who worked closely with Paul Durand-Ruel and who was one of the foremost collectors and patrons of Fanไtin-Latour's work.