Frédéric Bazille

Jean Frédéric Bazille, known as Frédéric Bazille, was born in Montpellier on 6 December 1841.

Born into Montpellier's Protestant bourgeoisie, nothing marked him out to follow an artistic path; in fact, he studied medicine to satisfy his parents. His passion for painting eventually took over and the artist left his mapped-out future to follow an apprenticeship in the studio of Baussan. Bazille eventually left the South for Paris in 1862, when he followed painting classes given by Charles Gleyre, making him a fully-fledged artist. During this training, he met the great artists of the time, such as Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas and Paul Cézanne, with whom he willingly shared his studios. In 1866, he exhibited at the painting Salon in Paris, but success was not forthcoming so he decided to lighten his palette and change his tonal range. Four years later, he joined a Zouave regiment, with which he met his death. It was not until 1870 that Frédéric Bazille acquired posthumous success during the first Impressionist exhibition, where many of the painter's canvasses were admired and acclaimed.

Jean Frédéric Bazille died in combat in Beaune-la-Rolande on 28 November 1870.