Henri Fantin-Latour

Henri Fantin-Latour is regarded as the most devoted Wagnerian Symbolist. He was both a highly influential painter and one of the greatest exponents of original lithography in the late 19th century France. Trained in painting by the Realist, Gustave Courbet, and spurred into the art of the original lithography by the publisher Cadart in 1862, Fantin-Latour’s original lithographs are passionate and romantic works inspired by legend, poetry, and music – especially that of Richard Wagner. A fervent admirer of Wagner’s music, Fantin-Latour became a leading figure in the promotion of the Wagnerian ideal.

In his original lithographs Fantin-Latour displays a master’s understanding of the creative possibilities of his medium, working directly on the stone with chalk and scraper after transferring his drawing, in order to achieve the flickering tones which give his beautifully crafted works their subtlety.