Grape Picker in a Cap I 

Frederic Bazille, painted this oil on canvas, entitled 'Grape Picker in a Cap I'. Bazille was a well-to-do Impressionist painter who often depicted scenes of rural life. This fragmentary painting might seem simply to represent a peasant woman, but it also encapsulates complex social and economic relationships in mid-19th century France. The Impressionists were a group of artists who were committed to depicting contemporary life. However, this commitment was often tested by the realities of class division, as many found it difficult to relate to those outside their own bourgeois circle. Bazille, who came from a wealthy family, was particularly aware of the class divide and often sought to bridge the gap between the urban and rural worlds in his art. It is interesting to consider the politics of imagery in this context. We might ask, for example, how this painting comments on the social structures of its own time. Is it self-consciously conservative or progressive? To fully appreciate such artworks, we must consider historical sources and records, to properly contextualize the paintings in relation to the social and institutional context in which they were made.