Still Life with Pansies

According to a list of Fantin's paintings compiled by his wife, this still life is one of thirty-one compositions of flowers and fruit that the artist produced in 1874. The branch of apples suggests that the present picture was painted in the fall; the pansies are spring flowers that were probably cultivated in a hothouse. Fantin reprised elements seen here in at least two other paintings: Potted Pansies of 1883 (2013.636) and Pansies of 1903 (1996.517).