The Artist's Studio, Rue de la Condamine 1870

A talented early Impressionist, Jean-Frédéric Bazilles (1841-70) work is little known due to his untimely death-he was killed in the Franco-Prussian War, at the age twenty-nine. His works exhibit a distinct, but often varied style, as Bazille sought to create his own artistic identity. His paintings show a freshness, great attention to detail, understanding of anatomy, and realistic facial expression. Had he lived for longer, it is likely his name would be as well known today as that of Monet and Renoir. Born in Montpellier, Bazille moved to Paris as a young man, where he studied at the studio of Swiss painter Charles Gleyre. His fellow pupils included Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, and Alfred Sisley. Gleyre was an exponent of plein-air painting and Bazille embraced this concept of painting in the open, rather than a studio. Bazille was from a wealthy family and was studying to become a doctor. He gave a great deal of financial assistance to Monet. During the 1860s, he gave up his medical studies in favor of art. He shared studios with Monet and Renoir, and he exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1866 onward. Among his finest paintings are the sexually charged Toilette (1869-70), After the Bath (1870), and The Improvised Field Hospital (1865), actually a portrait of Monet recovering from a leg injury. Bazille's later works were strongly influenced by Édouard Manet. The Artist's Studio depicts Bazilles own studio. Among the figures in this scene are Manet, Monet, Renoir, and the writer Émile Zola. The tallest figure is Bazille himself, added in by Manet after Bazille's death.