Focus on The Corner of the Table and analyze the History.
This painting was the third in a series of four “group portraits” created by the artist. The first two, Homage to Delacroix (1864) and A Studio at Les Batignolles (1870), reunited the painters that he admired; the fourth, Autour du Piano (1885), brought together the musicians.
Fantin-Latour's initial project was to create a painting where he would pay tribute to the poet Charles Baudelaire, in a similar way to what he had done to the painter Eugène Delacroix in a previous painting in 1864. He planned to bring together several personalities from the literary world around a portrait of the poet of Les Fleurs du Mal, at the occasion of his 50th birthday. It was his friend Edmond Maître who helped Fantin-Latour to contact several renowned poets, among them Albert Mérat, Paul Verlaine, and Arthur Rimbaud. Baudelaire's editor, Poulet-Malassis even had the idea to invite Leconte de Lisle, Théodore de Banville, and even Victor Hugo, but these personalities refused to pose. There are two sketches of this painting that Fantin-Latour had titled Le Repas.
Homage to Delacroix Théodore de Banville Edmond Maître Paul Verlaine Charles Baudelaire A Studio at Les Batignolles Eugène Delacroix Arthur Rimbaud Leconte de Lisle Victor Hugo