Studio in the Rue de Furstemberg
The corner of the studio Bazille shared with Monet on the rue de Furstemberg in Paris — next door to Delacroix, whose flat is now the Delacroix museum.
rue de Furstemberg
The painting shows a real, identified place that you can find today. The exact spot the artist worked from is not necessarily known.
Studio in the Rue de Furstemberg — at a glance
- Artist
- Frédéric Bazille (1841–1870)
- Year
- 1865
- Movement
- Impressionism (early)
- Place
- 6 rue de Furstemberg, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris
- Viewpoint
- A corner of Bazille and Monet's shared studio — the street and square survive; Delacroix's flat on the same square is now his museum
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- c. 80 × 65 cm
- Now at
- Musée Fabre, Montpellier
Overview
Studio in the Rue de Furstemberg is an early interior by Frédéric Bazille, painted in 1865, showing a corner of the cramped studio he then shared with his friend Claude Monet. Canvases lean against the wall and stand on an easel; a palette and a coat hang up; a window with a curtain; a stove; simple furniture. There are no figures. It is oil on canvas, about 80 by 65 cm, and it hangs in the Musée Fabre, Montpellier.
Where was Studio in the Rue de Furstemberg painted?
Scholarship The rue de Furstemberg is a very short street off the rue Jacob in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter, on the Left Bank of Paris, opening into a small tree-shaded square. Bazille and Monet rented a studio there in 1865. The painter Eugène Delacroix had his last studio and apartment on the same square, at number 6, from 1857 until his death in 1863 — that apartment is now the Musée national Eugène-Delacroix. The street and square survive essentially unchanged; the specific Bazille–Monet studio is not marked, but the setting can be found.
How we know
- A real Paris street (Delacroix's own); 'Paris' is the city.
What is in the painting?
A quiet corner: framed and unframed canvases stacked against a pale wall and one on an easel; a window with a light curtain letting in grey daylight; a small stove with its pipe; a chair; a hanging cloak and hat; a palette. The tones are muted — greys, browns, cream — the paint plain and direct, the mood of a working room out of use for the moment.
Look closely
The stacked canvases
Framed and unframed pictures lean against the wall and stand on the easel — a working painter's clutter.
The curtained window
A light curtain lets in soft grey daylight, setting the muted tone.
The stove
A small iron stove with its pipe stands in the corner — heating for the cramped room.
The hanging cloak
A coat and hat on a hook, and a palette — the room's occupant just out.
Analysis
Composition and technique
A plain studio corner — window, easel, stacked canvases, stove — painted quietly and without figures.
Scholarship Bazille records the room straightforwardly, letting the geometry of window, easel and stacked frames organise the picture and the soft daylight set the tone. It is a modest, honest ‘portrait’ of the shared workspace of two young painters at the start of Impressionism.
History & provenance
The painting is in the Musée Fabre, Montpellier, which holds the largest group of Bazille's work.
Sources
- Musée Fabre, Montpellier — collection entry for Frédéric Bazille, ‘Atelier de la rue de Furstenberg’ (1865)
- Musée national Eugène-Delacroix, Paris — 6 rue de Furstemberg
Related paintings
More by Frédéric Bazille
Bazille's Studio
