LGBT Artwork

Frederic Bazille, The Improvised Field Hospital, 1865

Frederic Bazille had an unusual relationship with his much more famous contemporary Claude Monet. Bazille - also an Impressionist painter - was much more well off than his friend, and supported him financially, buying his paintings and providing canvases, paint, and other resources. However, Monet was undoubtedly the more skilled painter of the two, and generally took a dominant role as Bazille's mentor. At his suggestion, the two men took a trip to the small village of Chailly-en-Biere to hike and paint landscapes. Soon after Bazille arrived, though, Manet injured his leg. Bazille, a former medical student, rigged up a makeshift hospital bed for him in a local inn, with a counterweight to raise his leg and make him more comfortable. Bazille then painted this portrait of his mentor while he healed, an intimate work that documented their relationship.

Manet, domineering and confident in his own skills, can be seen here reduced to a position of dependence, chafing under the restriction of his freedom. After looking forward to the masculine pursuits of hiking and painting en plein air, he has been unceremoniously reduced to weakness. He stares at the viewer with a frustrated expression, looking curiously lost under the tangled bedsheets. The lines of the room bear down on him and trap him, crushingly heavy.

It's likely that this painting was far too personal to sell, especially since Monet was a well-known, recognizable figure. Monet painted many portraits of Bazille, and the Impressionists all often posed for each other when they couldn't afford models. However, this portrait is different; while we don't know exactly what the relationship between the two men was, they lived together for many years and had a close relationship. One detail in particular seems to sum up their relationship. The two sent a lengthy correspondence back and forth, and Bazille saved many, possibly all, of Monet's letters. And Monet? Monet saved none.