Frédéric Bazille and the Birth of Impressionism

Exhibition Website

Apr 9 2017 - Jul 9 2017

Despite his contributions to the birth of impressionism, Frédéric Bazille (1841-1870) remains relatively unknown. A thematic presentation of 75 works—including paintings by contemporaries such as Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir—will bring to light Bazille’s place as a central figure in the movement. 

Several examples from the Gallery’s collection, which houses the largest group of Bazille’s works outside of France, will be featured in the first major American exhibition on the artist in almost 25 years. Paintings by his predecessors, Gustave Courbet and Théodore Rousseau, compared with those of Bazille, explore the sources and influences on his limited but visionary oeuvre.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website

 Whether you go or not, the exhibition catalog, Frederic Bazille and the Birth of Impressionism, provides a collection of essays, paintings, and personal correspondence celebraing the life and legacy of Frédéric Bazille, an instrumental but largely unsung impressionist talent. The paintings of Frédéric Bazille (1841–1870) were rediscovered after the turn of the nineteenth-century by art critics and curators who credited the artist as an important pioneer in the development of Impressionism. Tracing his artistic career from its inception—including his links to Manet, Monet, Renoir, and Cézanne—this book unveils Bazille’s complete painted works.

Organized both thematically and chronologically, this monograph also features facsimiles of the artist’s personal letters interspersed throughout the book on special paper inserts, and it is completed with a comprehensive bibliography, a list of works, and maps detailing his life in Montpellier and Paris. 

Frederic Bazille and the Birth of Impressionism
The catalog is also available in French: Frédéric Bazille (1841-1870) : La jeunesse de l'impressionnisme



  • Painting
  • European
  • 19th Century
  • Frédéric Bazille
  • Claude Monet
  • Pierre-Auguste Renoir
  • Gustave Courbet
  • Théodore Rousseau

Exhibition Venues & Dates