Pommes

Fantin painted numerous sketches of flowers and fruit to great acclaim in England, resulting in the acceptance of his still-lifes in the 1862 Royal Academy exhibition in London. The following year the American artist James McNeill Whistler purchased several of his still-lifes and commissioned several others. Despite his explosive success in London, his reputation spread more quietly in Paris, however, he was held in high regard among a small circle of fellow painters and critics in the Batignolles group; whose best known member was Edouard Manet. The present lot is characterised by the crisp green colours and verisimilitude of its subject matter. The strong impact of the artist’s palette is accentuated by the quiet neutrality of the background infusing the composition with a very distinctive three dimensional quality.