# Religions and Religion

- By: Henri Fantin-Latour (French, 1836-1904)
- Date: 1888
- Medium: Charcoal, with stumping, on canvas prepared with a white oil paint ground
- Classification: Drawing and Watercolor
- Dimensions: 45.1 × 37.5 cm (17 13/16 × 14 13/16 in.)
- Culture: France
- Credit line: Margaret Day Blake Fund
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/99525)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/web/9b8a8d700e7f2bdddffc3304f217b429.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Fantin' s composition is inspired by Victor Hugo's 1880 poem "Religions and Religion." In one long section of the poem, the poet listens to voices emanating from clouds that discuss the nature and history of man's religions. The drawing served as a maquette , or model, for an illustration in the collected works of Victor Hugo (1802-1885), which was published by the French government after the poet's death.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0