View of the Village of Castelnau-le-Lez 1868

"View of the Village of Castelnau-le-Lez" is an oil painting by Frédéric Bazille, a French painter who was a close friend of Claude Monet and Edgar Degas. This outdoor landscape scene, painted in 1868, depicts a young woman sitting in front of a large tree, looking out toward the village of Castelnau-le-Lez, located near Montpellier in southern France. The woman's pose, her clothing and the idyllic landscape are typical of 19th-century French Realism. Bazille's bold brushstrokes and use of light and color are characteristic of the Impressionist movement he was a part of. The painting is currently housed in the Musée Fabre in Montpellier, France.