À propos de l’œuvre
Portrait de Bazille, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Frédéric Bazille at the Saint-Siméon farm · Fabre Museum
Portrait of Frédéric Bazillehand painted reproduction
Frédéric Bazille appears in profile, sitting in front of a window opening onto the Honfleur countryside. His face and hair are constructed by deep browns, while the gray shirt, black scarf and green landscape are placed in broad touches. This small portrait on wood retains the immediacy of a session between two young painters who have become friends.
Look at the work
A dark profile stands out in front of the luminous countryside of Saint-Siméon
Bazille is seen mid-body, his gaze lowered to the left. The curve of his forehead, nose, beard and neck form a continuous, almost black silhouette. Monet does not erase brushstrokes: browns and colored blacks shape the face with very direct economy.
The gray jacket or shirt receives long white, green and brown touches which describe the folds without drawing them. Behind the head, a few trees, a roof and a green field are enough to establish the outdoors; the dark window jamb closes the composition on the right.
Friendship is read less in an official pose than in the proximity of the framing, the speed of the touch and the simplicity of the moment shared in Honfleur.
Composition, touch and light
What Monet builds behind the impression of snapshot
Three precise elements allow us to understand this composition and the essential difficulties of faithful reproduction.
A profile constructed by value rather than contour
The dark face stands out from the light background, but it contains several warm passages in the temple, ear, beard and neck. This variation keeps the volume without strong drawing.
The window as a frame inside the frame
The vertical upright on the right and the horizontal support behind the shoulder organize the small panel. They isolate the figure while letting the landscape enter the portrait.
Differentiated materials in a few gestures
The hair is treated with tight curves, the garment with wider strokes and the bottom with quick touches. The direction of the brush is enough to distinguish skin, fabric and vegetation.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The photograph from the Fabre museum shows the Portrait of Bazille with part of its frame. The work, inventory 45.8.1, is reproduced in real WebP of 1,320 × 1,700 px from the museum file in high definition.
Black must remain colored
Brown, green and gray appear in the hair, beard and scarf. A flat black would remove the shape of the skull and the separation between the different materials.
The face retains its very precise silhouette
The forehead, nose, lips and beard are especially visible in their light-bottomed relationship. Modifying this profile would immediately alter the resemblance to Bazille.
The garment maintains a broad style
Folds are indicated by blocks of gray, white and green, not by small lines. This key width is essential to the energy of the portrait.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
Painted in 1864, this oil portrait on wood measures 40.5 × 31.5 cm. It is kept at the Fabre museum under inventory 45.8.1.
Frédéric Bazille, friend and work companion
Bazille meets Monet in Charles Gleyre's studio. In 1864, the two young artists worked together in Honfleur and shared the stay at the Saint-Siméon farm.
A work returned to Monet by recent research
The Fabre museum indicates that recent studies attribute this portrait to Claude Monet and date it from their stay in 1864. The file also preserves the history of attributions linked to Bazille and his family.
Donation from the Bazille family in 1945
The painter's family offers the panel to the Fabre museum. The portrait thus joins in Montpellier a major ensemble devoted to Bazille, its environment and the beginnings of impressionism.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Respect the exact profile and the lowered stare position.
- Modulate blacks with browns and greens.
- Keep the wide touches of the garment.
- Keep the secondary and bright landscape behind your head.
Work sheet
| Title | Portrait of Frédéric Bazille |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1864 |
| Original technique | Oil on wood |
| Dimensions | 40.5 × 31.5 cm |
| Orientation | Vertical |
| Conservation | Fabre Museum, Montpellier, France |
| Inventory | 45.8.1 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This intimate portrait is suitable for a library, office or gallery wall. A patinated black, walnut or matte gold frame accompanies its tones; a sage green, linen or warm gray wall reveals the profile.
