Etude pour Eve (Study for Eve)

Henri Fantin-Latour

This impression of "Etude pour Eve" (Study for Eve) is from the first state, which has "H. Fantin. Eve, etude pour ma litho" (study for my litho) printed backwords in the lower left margin. This is removed for states two and three. There were nine impressions pulled of this state.

This impression is personally dedicated by Fantin-Latour to his cataloguer, Germain Hediard. The pencil annotation reads: "H. Fantin / A G. Hédiard / 24 Nov. 98."

The 2nd state was done in an edition of 150 and the 3rd state was published with text in the lower margin for the publication "Revue de l'Art ancien et moderne," January, 1899. Dr. Mark Stocker of the Museum of New Zealand commented: "His famous contemporary J. M. Whistler brought attention to Fantin in England, where his still-lifes sold so well that they were 'practically unknown in France during his lifetime'. In addition to his realistic paintings, Fantin-Latour created imaginative lithographs inspired by the music of some of the great classical composers.

Fantin-Latour depicted Eve several times, including a related painting (Private collection) and the lithograph Etude pour l'Eve (Study of Eve) (1898), where the figure is similar but the composition is cropped and plunged in shadow. Here ('Eve', Hediard 126) Eve is reaching out to pick apples - yet the girth of the tree appears far vaster than a real-life apple-tree, which indicates a surprising element of artistic license from an artist whose flower 'portraits' are renowned for their accuracy. Indeed, a mood of mysterious symbolism prevails, linking Fantin-Latour to the cultural movement of the time."