Frédéric Bazille

Frédéric Bazille (1841–1870) helped lay the foundation of Impressionism before dying in battle at twenty-eight, leaving behind fewer than sixty paintings. Born in Montpellier to a wealthy Protestant family of wine merchants, he fell in love with painting after seeing works by Delacroix. His family permitted him to study art only if he also pursued medicine. He failed his medical exam in 1864 and painted full-time after that.

In Paris, Bazille enrolled in the studio of Charles Gleyre, where he met Monet, Renoir, and Sisley. These friendships shaped the future of French art. Bazille was generous with his money, sharing studio space and supplies with struggling friends. His paintings combined figures with landscape backgrounds painted outdoors, anticipating the Impressionist plein air approach. The Pink Dress (1864) and Family Reunion (1867–68) show his ability to capture natural light falling on contemporary subjects.

When the Franco-Prussian War broke out in August 1870, Bazille enlisted in a Zouave regiment while many of his friends fled France. On November 28, 1870, he was killed at the Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande. His father traveled to the battlefield to bring his body home. The Impressionists returned to Paris after the war and held their first exhibition in 1874, but Bazille's work was not included. His friend Edmond Maître wrote: "Bazille was the most gifted, and the most pleasant, in every sense of the word." His paintings hang at the Musée d'Orsay, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Musée Fabre in Montpellier.