An excellent painter and also a patron of his Impressionist colleagues, Bazille's career was tragically cut short by his death in the Franco-Prussian War.

Early Years

Born in 1841 to a wealthy family of French wine merchants, Frédéric Bazille intended to study medicine but failed his initial exams and soon gave in to his true love of art and painting. He took lessons with the historical painter Charles Gleyre, and at Gleyre’s studio met future Impressionist icons Claude Monet and Pierre Auguste Renoir. Monet and Renoir would become Bazille's friends and would also influence his style and approach toward art, particularly through the practice of painting outdoors and directly observing life and nature.

A frequent meeting place for this artistic group was the Café Guerbois in Paris, where new ideas and theories were discussed passionately and Bazille – being from a well-off family – paid for many a round of drinks. Bazille also paid for studio rent and art supplies, and like another wealthy fellow Impressionist, Gustave Caillebotte, helped ease financial burdens with a sense of generosity that often saved his companions from financial despair.

Monet and Manet

Bazille’s 1867 Family Reunion is one of his best-known paintings, displaying his skill for showing light and atmospheric effect, along with depiction of various figures in a tableaux-type style. Family Reunion was accepted by the prestigious French Salon of 1869, although Monet’s works at that time were not. Bazille didn’t gloat much about his inclusion in the Salon, stating that his being chosen over Monet was “probably by mistake.”

Bazille greatly admired other innovative French artists Gustave Courbet and Édouard Manet, and Bazille’s painting Young Woman with Peonies was a tribute to Manet’s scandalously-received 1863 work Olympia. Manet was generally at odds with the art critics and patrons of the day, and his nude Olympia was declared coarse and vulgar. Bazille, however, focused on the woman behind the figure of Olympia with her large basket of flowers and brought her into close-up. He also used thicker strokes than usual, this also being a tribute to Manet’s strong blunt use of the brush.

Another of Bazille’s works centered around his artistically-minded companions is his Studio Rue de la Condamine, which features Bazille himself, Monet, Renoir, Edmond Maitre, writer Emile Zola and Manet all hanging around the studio. Reportedly, Manet was the one who painted Bazille into the picture.

Legacy

Sadly, soon after the declaration of the Franco-Prussian War in July of 1870, Bazille enlisted for service and was killed in battle a few months later. He was just over a week away from his 29th birthday, and there has always been much speculation as to how influential Bazille might have been as an artist – particularly judging by the work he did manage to leave behind in his brief yet meaningful career.

Frédéric Bazille’s paintings can be found at The Art Institute of Chicago, The Musée d'Orsay in Paris, and The National Gallery of Art. Additionally, the 2006 BBC miniseries The Impressionists is available on DVD and focuses on an elderly Claude Monet’s recollection of his life as an artist, and includes his friendship with Bazille and remorse over his early death.

Sources

• Frédéric Bazille: The Impressionists – Biography.com
• Young Woman With Peonies – National Gallery of Art
• Frédéric Bazille – Microsoft Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007
• Frédéric Bazille Biography: Renoirinc.com
• Frédéric Bazille Family Reunion – Musée d'Orsay