Homage to Rossini 1902

Henri Fantin-Latour made this drawing, Homage to Rossini, most likely in the late 19th century. It looks like it was done in charcoal or maybe lithographic crayon, using a toned ground. Looking at it, I feel like I’m seeing a bunch of figures kinda floating around a classical bust on a pedestal. Like a fever dream or some kind of séance. What do you think Fantin-Latour was trying to conjure up? The scene has an operatic kind of vibe, like the figures are there to sing the praises of Rossini. Maybe he’s trying to depict the feeling of the music rather than illustrate it, as if trying to catch that ephemeral quality of the music on paper. Look at how he’s used short, blurry marks to suggest movement and light, almost like the figures are dissolving into the atmosphere. You can sense the artist really trying to translate something so immaterial into a visual form; it’s like he’s trying to paint a ghost of a feeling. You can see the echoes of the old masters here, but he’s doing something completely new with them.