Young Woman under a Tree at Sunset, called 'Autumn'

About this artwork

drager: hoogte 37,8 cm x breedte 21,2 cm x dikte 3,2 cm (incl. achterkantbescherming)

Art Historical Context

Henri Fantin-Latour’s “Young Woman under a Tree at Sunset, called ‘Autumn’” captures a quiet, symbolic moment in a compact oil-on-canvas format measuring just 37.8 by 21.2 centimeters. Created sometime between 1855 and 1900, the painting presents a solitary female figure beneath a tree bathed in the golden light of dusk, evoking the season’s contemplative mood. The modest scale invites close viewing, suggesting the work may have been intended for private contemplation rather than grand exhibition. Fantin-Latour, known for his precise yet poetic approach, blended realist observation with symbolic suggestion. While celebrated for his still lifes and group portraits of fellow artists, he also explored allegorical themes that hint at inner states or seasonal cycles. Here, the glowing sunset and autumnal setting likely serve as metaphors for transience, a recurring interest in late-nineteenth-century French art. The rich layering of oil paint allows for subtle transitions of light and color that heighten the painting’s reflective atmosphere. Now housed in the Rijksmuseum, the work offers visitors an intimate encounter with Fantin-Latour’s ability to merge natural observation and poetic feeling in a single, luminous scene.

About the Artist

Henri Fantin-Latour · 1836–1904

Ignace Henri Jean Théodore Fantin-Latour was born on January 14, 1836, in Grenoble, France, to portrait painter Théodore Fantin-Latour, who gave him his earliest drawing lessons. The family relocated to Paris in 1841, where in 1850, at age 14, he enrolled in the École de Dessin, studying under Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran, whose innovative memory-based method of drawing from observation profoundly ...