Bazille, Frédéric (1841-1870)
Rue de village, Chailly (Village Street, Chailly)
1865
Oil on canvas 32.5 х 24.5 cm
Musée Fabre, Montpellier
This 1865 painting created in the Chailly forest is one of the first testimonies to Frédéric Bazille‘s interest in landscape. Painted in a frank manner as were the first landscapes of Pissarro or Cézanne, it demonstrates his companionship with Claude Monet, met in Paris in the studio of the painter Charles Gleyre. In the company of Monet, Bazille went to Chailly, the center of the Barbizon School, and began studying the landscape in nature. In addition to the present study, we know from this period of 1865, the Landscape at Chailly from the Art Institute of Chicago. This small, rare and early study contributes to the influence of the Fabre Museum. The museum in fact preserves an exceptional collection of works by the artist including the two small studies: Bouillon Lids and Two Herrings (1864) acquired by the Fabre Museum in 2009. (FABRE)