Artwork
Young Woman with Peonies
Young Woman with Peonies is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Frédéric Bazille. It dates from 1870 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:upper right: F. Bazille. / 1870
About this work
A young woman in a dark dress holds a bouquet of pink peonies, her face calm, her hands light on the stems. The flowers glow against the dark cloth. Bazille painted this in 1870, shortly before he died in the war, mixing soft petals with deep shadow.
Subject & Meaning
The work depicts a bust-length portrait of a Black woman, identified in historical records as a flower seller, gazing directly at the viewer.
The work depicts a bust-length portrait of a Black woman, identified in historical records as a flower seller, gazing directly at the viewer. She holds peonies above a wicker basket filled with additional flowers, wearing a cream-colored bodice and a pink madras headscarf against a plain gray background. The subject's identity as a flower vendor and her attire, including the madras, situate her within the context of nineteenth-century French colonial presence and the representation of Black figures in art.
While the painting is titled for the flowers she holds, the composition emphasizes her dignified engagement with the spectator rather than serving solely as a botanical study. An alternative version of this figure exists in Montpellier, showing her arranging a bouquet in a stoneware vase, further confirming the artist's focus on this individual and her trade.
History & Provenance
Frédéric Bazille created the oil-on-canvas portrait Young Woman with Peonies in 1870. Upon completion, the artist gifted the work to Edmond Maître, who died in 1898, after which it passed to Gaston Maître. In 1913 the painting was given to Bazille's brother, Marc Bazille, and subsequently remained with the artist's nephew, also named Frédéric Bazille, in Montpellier, France, from at least 1935 through 1959.
It was later handled by the Wildenstein dealers in London, New York, and Paris before being sold in October 1963 to Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia. The painting entered the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as a gift from Paul Mellon in 1983. The nephew had lent the work to exhibitions in Paris in 1935 and in Montpellier in 1941 and 1959, and it was later included in the exhibition Le Modèle noir de Géricault à Matisse.
Overview
Frédéric Bazille, a French artist linked to the nascent Impressionist movement, completed Young Woman with Peonies in 1870. This oil on canvas painting presents a solitary figure within an outdoor environment. The work exemplifies Bazille's characteristic approach of merging traditional portraiture with the direct observation of nature, a technique often employed in his figural compositions.
Technique & Style
Bazille's artistic method in this piece reflects his interest in capturing the effects of natural light. He frequently integrated the practice of painting outdoors, or plein air, into his figure studies, as seen here. The artist's preference for vivid hues and strong illumination is evident in the interplay between the soft textures of the flowers and the pronounced shadows.
Context
Created in 1870, Young Woman with Peonies dates to a pivotal moment in Frédéric Bazille's life. The artist produced this work shortly before his death during the Franco-Prussian War later that same year. The painting thus represents one of his final contributions to the developing artistic landscape of his time.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jean Frédéric Bazille (French pronunciation: ; December 6, 1841 – November 28, 1870) was a French Impressionist painter.
