Bazille, Frédéric Jean

(1841-1870)

   painter

   Born in Montpellier, Frédéric jean Bazille abandoned his medical studies in Paris to dedicate himself to painting. At the studio of Charles Gleyre, he met Claude Monet, Pierre Renoir, and Alfred Sisley and went with them to paint at Fontainebleau. Bazaine supported his friends financially and was part of the beginnings of impressionism. His art owes much to Edouard manet. In his portraits and family scenes, the use of clear colors, clean forms, and a sense of volume are evident. He shows, too, a certain naïveté in his somewhat dry drawings and in the character of his expressions, but because of his very subtle sense of light, Bazaine is considered one of the founders of the impressionist movement (Réunion de famille, 1867).