Henri Fantin-Latour

Symphonie Fantastique: A Ball, from Hector Berlioz, sa vie et ses oeuvres

1888
Lithograph in black on off-white China paper, laid down on white wove paper (chine collé)
23.4 × 15.5 cm (9.2 × 6.1 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

French composer Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique is an epic composition that tells the story of an artist’s unrequited love for a beautiful woman, who was probably based on the Irish actress Harriet Smithson. Here, Henri Fantin-Latour paid homage to the symphony’s second movement, in which the artist, at right, tries to gain the attention of his beloved as the guests of the ball mingle in the background.

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