Birth and Early Life

Frederic Bazille was born into a wealthy family in Montpellier, Herault, France in 1841. His family’s wish was to make him study medicine.

But Bazille became interested in painting after seeing some of the works of Eugene Delacroix. His family agreed to his request on the condition that he also studied medicine.

Later life and works

Bazille moved to Paris in 1862 in pursuit of his study of medicine where he met Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley. After meeting these great painters, his passion for painting became stronger.

He started taking classes in Charles Gleyre’s studio. When he failed the medical exam in 1864, he started painting full-time.

Wealthy as he was, he was generous in extending support to the less fortunate associates by giving them space and material in his studio

Bazille painted most of his best paintings when he was barely twenty-three years old. One of his famous paintings is ‘The Pink Dress‘ (1864). The painting is a depiction of his cousin, Therese des Hours, who is seen from behind, gazing at the sun-let landscape.

His other best-known painting is ‘Family Reunion’ of 1867-1868. Frederic Bazille joined a Zouave regiment in August 1870, a month after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war.

When he was with his unit on Nov 28, 1870, his officer became injured and he had to take command of the army unit. In the ensuing attack on the German position, he was hit twice and died on the battlefield at the age of twenty-eight.

In France’s unfortunate involvement in the Franco-Prussian War, it was obvious that France was doomed to lose against a more powerful Prussia. It was not clear what made Frederic Bazille volunteer to join the army in the war.

Death in battle

Bazille reportedly expressed his feeling, while celebrating his promotion to sergeant-major, that he knew that he would not be killed as he had too many things to do in life. Unfortunately, he was killed in the battle the very next day.

Experts feel that his 6 feet 2 inches of height made him become an easy target to the bullets from the opposite army.

“If Frederic Bazille had not been killed in 1870 at age 28 in the Franco-Prussian war, he would have equalled Claude Monet, Edgar Degas and Auguste Renoir in fame as an Impressionist painter. He was that good.”

This is how experts feel about the artistic talent and strength of a great artist who had to meet his end so early in his life. Bazile was part of the main Impressionist group in the 1860s and 1870s. He only fell out of the group because he died so young.

Short life, Great art

During his short life, he painted around 60 paintings. Art critics always believed that Bazlle certainly belonged with the great painters like Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Degas and Morisot.

“Improvised Field Hospital” (1865) is a painting by Bazille in which he depicted a bed-ridden Claude Monet while Monet was recuperating after he sustained an injury in his leg.

This painting is one of his early works which shows Bazille’s genius as an artist. His other painting “La Toilette” (1870), shows a young nude courtesan shows his brilliance in the depiction of the details of the colours and the patterns in the fur on the sofa, the black woman skirt, the kimono robe and Turkish rug in the background.

“Oleanders” (1867) is another example of the brilliance of Bazille’s work. In this painting, Bazille has experimented with the effect of sunlight and shadow in a landscape scene.

He painted a shadow in the background, then bright sunshine in the middle and again a shadow in the foreground. Experts say that he attempted to add to the painting a green bench with a woman seated on it.

He could not finish the painting because he was killed before finishing it.

“The Beach at Sainte-Adresse” (1865) was the product of his friendship with Claude Monet, who was much more advanced in painting skills at that time. Bazille and Monet travelled to Normandy, where Monet grew up. This was the only Normandy coast painting by Bazille.

Experts feel that Bazille was feeling a little sense of inferiority in the presence of Monet’s superior skills at outdoor painting. Monet painted his painting of the beach scene literally right there on the beach.

However, Bazille, inexperienced as he was in painting directly outdoors, painted and reworked his version inside his studio.

His Paintings

‘La robe rose’ (1864), ‘Studio on Rue Furstenberg’ (1865), ‘Aigues-Mortes’ (1867), ‘Self Portrait’ (1865), ‘Family Reunion’ (1867) ‘View of the Village’ (1868), ‘Scene d’ete’, (1869), La Toilette’ (1870), ‘Paysage au bord du Lez’ (1870) are some of his other well-known artworks.