The Palace of Aurora

Henri Fantin-Latour French

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 800

In November 1901, Fantin-Latour wrote: "Never again flowers or portraits. I amuse myself painting whatever comes to mind and, happily, have a dealer who buys whatever I do." The present picture is an example of the imaginative works that the artist—freed from the necessity of painting portraits or commercial still lifes—made at the end of his career. Often based on literary or musical themes, they are distinctive for their loose, spontaneous execution and delicate color harmonies. Here, the goddess of dawn is seated in her cloud-filled palace while Night draws aside her veil, her garments illuminated by the first glittering rays of day.

The Palace of Aurora, Henri Fantin-Latour (French, Grenoble 1836–1904 Buré), Oil on canvas

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.