Family Reunion

1867

Oil on canvas, 152 × 230 cm. Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Ten members of the painter's family on a shaded terrace near Montpellier, with Bazille at far left. It applies outdoor light to a large, formal group portrait.

Painted in summer 1867 and shown at the 1868 Salon, which refused Monet's bolder work.
Bazille admired Monet's outdoor pictures and had bought his Women in the Garden.
Bazille sets his family in deep shade, with sunlight breaking through the leaves onto pale dresses. Showing how outdoor light falls on figures was a core Impressionist aim.
Most sitters gaze out at the viewer, as if posing for a photographer.
The French national museums bought it in 1905 with help from his brother Marc.

The family spent summers at Méric, its estate outside Montpellier. Bazille was killed in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, at 28.

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain