Bazille was associated with
Impressionism.
Bazille was born into a wealthy family
in Montpelier. After beginning a medical career in Paris
(1862), he began to study painting part-time with Gleyre
where he met
Renoir,
with whom he shared a studio,
Monet
and
Sisley.
Through them he met Manet, and he worked with the
Impressionists at Honfleur in 1864. He also painted at
Barbizon in 1863. He gave up medicine in 1865 and shared a
studio with Monet.
His career was cut short by
the Franco-Prussian war in which he fought and died. He was
interested in plein air painting, but of figures rather than
pure landscape, and his paintings are of interest for its
exploration of the effects of light on flesh tones (e.g.
Family on the Terrace, 1867, Paris, Musee d"Orsay).
Bazille
paintings retained a high finish and dark palette (e.g.
Negro Woman and Peonies, 1870, Montpellier Musee Fabre). He
was also a portraitist and recorder of the Impressionist
scene (e.g. Studio in the Rue de la Condamini, 1870, Paris,
Musee d"Orsay).
