Edouard Blau
probably 1869
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 59.5 x 43.2 cm (23 7/16 x 17 in.) framed: 69.5 x 53 x 5.1 cm (27 3/8 x 20 7/8 x 2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CF
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Chester Dale Collection
Accession Number
1963.10.81
Art Historical Context
Frédéric Bazille's *Edouard Blau* (probably 1869) is a compelling oil-on-canvas portrait measuring 59.5 x 43.2 cm, capturing the likeness of the French poet and librettist Édouard Blau. Bazille, a promising young artist from Montpellier, painted this intimate work during a pivotal moment in his career, just before the birth of Impressionism as a movement. As a close associate of Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley, Bazille shared studios with them in Paris, contributing financially to their shared experiments while developing his own fresh approach to light and color. Rende...