Drawing From Art: Photography January 11, 2026

In earlier blogs, I mentioned that my photography and painting are influenced by many great artists. There are numerous aesthetic principles that I gleaned from studying the works of the masters and applying their ideas to my own images. I did not begin to form my references in any particular order nor did I look for information pertaining to concepts that would benefit my own visuals in an especially “thought-out” manner. Knowledge from artists whom I studied in books and later on the web, in museums and exhibitions and, of course, the masterful lessons of nature taught me randomly. From a flower, I learned angles and curves; a building taught me perspective; Miro gave me insight into line. And, long before I reverted to photographing still life during COVID, I returned again and again to an old favorite: the genius Henri Fantin-Latour.

I first became acquainted with Fantin-Latour when I saw his still lifes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. These paintings, tucked away on an inconspicuous wall took my breath away. The Fantin-Latour paintings are the quintessence of composition, form, palette and perfect placement of objects, juxtaposed to their best advantage. The artist’s technique in painting flowers with delicacy, fruit with a tangible ripeness and vases and bowls that gracefully hold the bounty are indeed masterful. After delving into Fantin-Latour’s paintings, drawings and other art, I was captivated by his use of light. In all of his art, Fantin-Latour directs light to create form and to give the viewer’s eye an inspiring journey through his compositions. In particular, Fantin-Latour often contrasts dark with tiny areas of light, which is highly effective. Pinpoints of light attract the eye and direct it to Fantin-Latour’s main focus, but then light brings the eye to clearly defined areas of his composition again.

Flowers (1871)

This marvelous Fantin-Latour painting, Flowers (1871), masterfully contrasts very small segments of light with dark to culminate in one beautiful burst of the painting’s main focus: the flowers. The small lights at the base of the glass vase carries the eye upwards by threading tiny lights to reflect the vase’s form. Then, a burst of light flowers. However, the eye is once again carried down to the bottom of the composition by the gleaming glass of the vase.

 Fantin-Latour’s use of light to captivate and intrigue the viewer is extraordinary. A still life is frequently static: a pleasant, even beautiful arrangement of flowers, fruit, objects. Yet, Fantin-Latour’s work infuses life into his still life with his placement of light!

Emile Zola said of Fantin-Latour’s painting: “The canvases of M. Fantin-Latour do not assault your eyes, …They must be looked at for a length of time in order to penetrate them, and their conscientiousness, their simple truth—you take these entirely, and then you return [to look again].”

Monsoon Palace, Udaipur (Ellen Fisch)

I benefitted from studying Henri Fantin-Latour’s use of light in a relatively dark/shadowed image when I shot this photograph of a view from a window in the Monsoon Palace in Udaipur, India.

The bottom portion of the photograph is quite shadowed as it is an interior shot at twilight. But I used the small areas of light to direct the eye upwards to the lightest part of the photograph: the sky.

The small, soft lights formed by shadow in the lower foreground; the brighter lights on the window frame, all lead the eye upward to the sky and then down again. The shadowed top portion of the image creates an even brighter sky in its juxtaposition: light to dark.

Lesson learned from the great master Henri Fantin- Latour.