Victoria DUBOURG (Paris, 1836 - Bure, 1904) Composition with fan and bouquet of white roses Oil on canvas (Original canvas) Signed with the initials 'V.D.' lower right Composition with fan and bouquet of white roses, oil on canvas, signed, by V. Dubourg 12.99 x 16.14 in. 33 x 41 cm A "superior woman and painter of merit" according to the painter Jacques-Emile Blanche, Victoria Dubourg was particularly interested in flower studies. In 1860, she met Edouard Manet, who was to influence her first paintings. Although she wished to maintain a certain distance from the Impressionists, she became friends with Berthe Morisot and Edgar Degas, who painted her portrait around 1868-1869. She thus became part of an emulating circle of talented artists and writers. Following their meeting at the Louvre, she married Henri Fantin-Latour on 15 November 1876. Together, they spent their summers at Victoria's family residence in Lower Normandy, where the flowers in the gardens provided invaluable models for their painted bouquets. Victoria Dubourg exhibited at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français from 1869 to 1902, where she won an honourable mention and a third-class medal for her floral compositions. She naturally found inspiration in the work of her husband, with whom she had a passionate relationship. Together they produced still life studies in the Dutch tradition of the 17th century, taking a particular interest in the work of Willem Kalf. Our painting bears witness to Fantin-Latour's decisive influence on his wife's painting. After his death in 1904, our artist devoted herself to perpetuating her late husband's work, notably by writing his catalogue raisonné and organising an exhibition at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Victoria DUBOURG (Paris, 1836 - Bure, 1904) 33 x 41 cm A "superior woman and painter of merit" according to the painter Jacques-Emile Blanche, Victoria Dubourg was particularly interested in flower studies. In 1860, she met Edouard Manet, who was to influence her first paintings. Although she wished to maintain a certain distance from the Impressionists, she became friends with Berthe Morisot and Edgar Degas, who painted her portrait around 1868-1869. She thus became part of an emulating circle of talented artists and writers. Following their meeting at the Louvre, she married Henri Fantin-Latour on 15 November 1876. Together, they spent their summers at Victoria's family residence in Lower Normandy, where the flowers in the gardens provided invaluable models for their painted bouquets. Victoria Dubourg exhibited at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français from 1869 to 1902, where she won an honourable mention and a third-class medal for floral compositions. She naturally found inspiration in the work of her husband, with whom she had a passionate relationship. Together they made still life studies in the Dutch tradition of the 17th century, taking a particular interest in the work of Willem Kalf. Our painting bears witness to Fantin-Latour's decisive influence on his wife's painting. After his death in 1904, our artist devoted herself to perpetuating her late husband's work, notably by writing his catalogue raisonné and organising an exhibition at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.