# Edouard Blau

**Frédéric Bazille** (French, 1841–1870)  
probably 1869  
oil on canvas  
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.)

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1963.10.81. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.46556.html).

## About this work

Frédéric Bazille painted this (probably 1869), aged 28. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

Shown from the chest up, a pale-skinned man in a suit sits in a high-backed chair, looking slightly to our right in this vertical portrait painting. His eyes and head are both turned slightly to our right, with only one ear visible on our left. His shoulder on our right and the right side of the chair are slightly cut off by the edge of the painting. He has a straight nose, high cheekbones, and pale pink closed lips. His eyes are dark, with small shadows beneath them. His black, wavy hair is parted on our right and cropped short on the sides of his head, with thick, defined waves on top. He has a light brown mustache that extends past the edge of his lips and flips up at the ends and a small, thin goatee. Beneath his chin, the collar of his white shirt is visible. The man wears an open suit jacket with a black vest, which folds slightly just below his chest, revealing a glimpse of his white shirt beneath it in a gap between buttons. The chair is only visible from the man’s shoulders up and ends at his forehead. It has a curved, round top back with a red frame and dark green upholstery. The part of the red frame on the right side of the painting has white and yellow highlights. The background is dark gray with visible brushstrokes. The artist signed and dated the painting at the top left, “F. Bazille. 1866.”

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Frédéric Bazille](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/frederic-bazille)

French, 1841–1870

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- The artist was 28
- Real size: about 23 × 17 in (60 × 43 cm). The 18 × 24 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Impressionism](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/impressionism)
- Subjects: male, Blau, Edouard
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1523.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1523/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/edouard-blau-nga-46556).