Frédéric Bazille | |
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 Self-portrait, 1865–1866, oil on canvas,Art Institute of Chicago | |
| Born | Jean Frédéric Bazille (1841-12-06)6 December 1841 |
| Died | 28 November 1870(1870-11-28) (aged 28) Beaune-la-Rolande, France |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | Impressionism |
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Jean Frédéric Bazille (French pronunciation:[ʒɑ̃fʁedeʁikbazij]; December 6, 1841 – November 28, 1870) was a FrenchImpressionist painter. Many of Bazille's major works are examples offigure painting in which he placed the subject figure within a landscape painteden plein air.[1]
Frédéric Bazille was born inMontpellier,Hérault,Languedoc-Roussillon, France, into a wealthy wine merchantProtestant family. Bazille grew up in the Le Domaine de Méric, a wine-producing estate inCastelnau-le-Lez, near Montpellier, owned by his family.[3] He became interested in painting after seeing some works ofEugène Delacroix. His family agreed to let him study painting, but only if he also studied medicine.[1]
Bazille began studying medicine in 1859, and moved to Paris in 1862 to continue his studies. There he metPierre-Auguste Renoir andAlfred Sisley, was drawn to Impressionist painting, and began taking classes inCharles Gleyre's studio. After failing his medical exam in 1864, he began painting full-time. His close friends includedClaude Monet,Alfred Sisley andÉdouard Manet. Bazille was generous with his wealth and helped support his less fortunate associates by giving them space in his studio and materials to use.[1]
Bazille was just twenty-three years old when he painted several of his best-known works, includingThe Pink Dress (c. 1864,Musée d'Orsay, Paris). This painting combines a portrait-like depiction of Bazille's cousin, Thérèse des Hours, who is seen from behind—and the sunlit landscape at which she gazes.[4] His best-known painting isFamily Reunion, painted 1867–1868 (Musée d'Orsay, Paris).
Frédéric Bazille joined aZouave regiment in August 1870, a month after the outbreak of theFranco-Prussian War. On November 28th of that year he was with his unit at theBattle of Beaune-la-Rolande when his commanding officer was injured. That required him to take command and lead an assault on the German position. He was hit twice in the failed attack and died on the battlefield at the age of twenty-eight. His father travelled to the battlefield a few days later to take his body back for burial at Montpellier in theProtestant cemetery over a week later.[5][6]
Bazille never married, claiming it was because of “an early heartbreak with a woman.” He developed intimate friendships with men, such asEdmond Maître, but was also melancholic and claimed to “hav[e] constant migraines while he was painting his nude men.” This and thehomoeroticism of his paintings led to modern suggestions that Bazille may have beengay andconflicted about his sexuality.[7][8]
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