Frédéric Bazille: The Overlooked Impressionist Pioneer

Frédéric Bazille (1841-1870), a French Impressionist artist, perished during the Franco-Prussian War, leaving behind a modest yet impactful collection of artwork. Hailing from a Protestant upper-middle-class family in Montpellier, he pursued his artistic education under Charles Gleyre in Paris, contrary to his family's expectations. Starting in 1861, he collaborated in a studio with Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir and engaged in discussions at Café Guerbois alongside Édouard Manet and others. Bazille frequently repurposed canvases, including 'Young Woman with Peonies' (1870, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC), which was painted over a previous portrait. His ambition was to capture modern life, famously expressing his desire to create 'painting figures in the sun.' He joined the Third Regiment of Zouaves in 1870 and died at the age of 28.