Frederic Bazille’s paintings of figures in landscapes

Abhishek Kumar

DECEMBER 06, ON THIS DAY

The subject matter is unimportant, provided what I have done is interesting as a painting. I chose the modern era because it is the one I understand best; I find it more alive for people who are alive.

Frederic Bazille

Frédéric Bazille\’s Self-portrait

Frederic Bazille was an Impressionist painter who helped shape the movement in its early years. His figurative en plein air portraits, which combined a sensitive sense of nature with a powerful sense of colour, are what made him famous. In order to give his works of art a magnificent aspect, he balanced delicate paintings of nature with experimentation with colour and figures. Bazille experimented extensively with painting \”en plein air\” like the other Impressionists, even if many of his works are Realist. As a result, he rose to fame for his expert depictions of people in landscapes, becoming a role model for other Impressionist painters.

The Pink Dress

Frederic Bazille was born on December 6, 1841 in Montpellier, France. Bazille studied medicine before becoming a painter, though half-heartedly. His parents wanted him to be financially independent so advised him to pursue medicine but he soon gave up on his studies in favour of painting. He met fellow artists Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley during these formative years, and they joined him in forming the Impressionist movement of the late 19th century.

Bazille\’s Summer Scene (Bathers)

Despite having a brief life, Bazille created a number of significant paintings. When he was only 23 years old and had only lived in Paris for two years, he painted The Pink Dress, a back-view portrait of one of his female cousins. The person sits in a shaded area of the picture, which stands out in contrast to the bright sunlight that illuminates the rest of the landscape. Frederic Bazille\’s best-known work, Family Reunion was a leading example of what is now known as outdoor figural art. The painting was exhibited at the Salon, France\’s exclusive state-run art show, in 1869. Family Reunion showed Bazille\’s extended family at their country estate, Meric, and exemplified the artist\’s use of color and adept depiction of human figures, both hallmarks of the Realist-Impressionist style. The painting was an example of the challenge that faced all Impressionists: how to reconcile traditional figure painting with outdoor practice.

La Toilette

With Summer Scene (Bathers), Frederic Bazille brought his figure drawings from his Paris studio outside into a landscape with vegetation like trees, grass, and water. The painting showed young males lounging by the banks of a river close to Meric while wearing bathing costumes. Similar to Family Reunion, Summer Scene was displayed at the Salon in 1870 and included friends and family in the great outdoors. Although Bazille was an active part of the Impressionist movement, which placed a strong focus on the use of different lighting and realistic topics like plain portraits, his most well-known works were more traditional in nature. He was very fascinated by how light affected human skin, and this is evident in several of his paintings. Bazille’s portrayal of an artist’s salon, Studio in the Rue de Furstenberg, lacks some elements that are featured in many later Impressionists’ works.

Black Woman with Peonies

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Bazille
2. https://www.theartstory.org/artist/bazille-frederic/
3. https://impressionistarts.com/frederic-bazille-biography

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