Le Paradis et la Peri – Debut 1901

Fantin-Latour made this lithograph, Le Paradis et la Peri – Debut, using grease and a stone, and it’s all about atmosphere. Look at the way the marks build up, creating soft, hazy forms out of what is, essentially, just touch after touch of black ink. The light in the picture seems to come from everywhere and nowhere. See how the figures emerge from this sea of marks, and how the texture of the lithographic stone gives the whole thing a kind of velvety feel. It’s all about surface. The way the light catches the angel’s drapery, the soft gradations of tone in her face. And then you notice these tiny details, like the way the artist has rendered the folds in her dress, or the delicate curve of her arm. Fantin-Latour reminds me of Odilon Redon, who was making similar kinds of mysterious, dreamy images at the same time. Both artists were interested in the way that art could be a kind of portal to another world. And that's something I try to do in my own work, too. Embrace the unknown and see where it takes you.